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ANXIOUS    ENQUIRER 


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SALVATION, 


DIRjaCTED  AND  ENCOURAGED 


JOHN  ANGELL  JAMES, 


\ 


AUTIIOn  OP  "  FAMILY  MOXITOS,"  "CHRISTIAN  eHARlTY,"  ftC. 


"  What  itmrt  I  do  to  be  mvwl  t" 
*'  Believe  on  the  I/oril  Jesus  Chrii*,  and  thou' 
•!ialt  be  Baved."— Ac'^,  xri.  30,  3!. 


NEW-YORK: 
D.  APPLETON  &  CO.  200  BROADWAY. 

STERKOTYPED  BY  CONNER  &  COOKK. 
MDCCCXXXIV. 


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http://www.arcliive.org/details/anxiousenquireraOOjameiala 


PREFACE 


AvL  subjects  must  be  taught  by  elementary- 
treatises  :  to  this  rule,  religion  forms  no  excep- 
tion ;  and  as  books  for  children,  compose  a  very 
useful,  though  humble  department,  in  general 
literature,  so  in  the  great  science  of  salvation,  he 
aims  at  no  unimportant  object,  who  wrkes  for 
those  who  are  anxious  to  be  converted,  and  who 
are  willing,  for  that  purpose,  to  become  as  little 
children  in  the  school  of  Christ.  Such  is  my 
design;  to  accomplish  which,  I  sought  after  the 
greatest  simplicity  of  style.  Writing  for  babes 
in  Christ,  I  have  given  little  more  than  the 
alphabet  of  personal  religion ;  but  the  learning 
of  which  is  necessary  to  future  progress.  Almost 
11  teachers,  whether  of  children  or  of  adults, 
ommit  the  error  of  taking  for  granted,  that  their 
pupils  know  more  than  they  really  do :  it  is  fiir 
better  to  err  in  the  opposite  extreme.     If  any  are 


'*-     5^ 


i  PREFACE. 

disposed  to  think  1  have  carried  my  endeavour 
after  simplicity  too  far,  and  are  desirous  of  some 
thing  more  elaborate,  I  refer  them  to  the  excel- 
lent work  of  Dr.  Henry,  of  Charleston,  entitled, 
V  "  Letters  to  a  Friend,"  recommended  by  Dr.  Pye 
Smith,  the  object  of  which  is  precisely  the  same 
as  my  own,  but  which  is  written  in  a  more  dif- 
fuse style,  and  illustrated  by  a  greater  variety  of 

facts 

J.  A.  J. 
Edgbaston,  April,  1834. 


INTRODUCTION. 


DIRECTIONS    FOR    THE   PROFITABLE   READING   OF  TBB 
FOLLOWING  TREATISE. 

It  may  seem  strange  to  some  persons,  that  I 
should  give  directions  for  the  performance  of  an 
act  so  well  understood  as  the  perusal  of  a  book ; 
and  especially  the  perusal  of  a  book  of  so  simple 
and  elementary  a  kind  as  this.  But  the  fact  is, 
that  multitudes  either  do  not  know,  or  do  not  re- 
member at  the  time,  how  to  read  to  advantage  j 
and  therefore  profit  but  little  by  what  they  read. 
Besides,  simple  and  elementary  as  is  this  treatise, 
it  is  on  a  subject  of  infinite  and  eternal  importance, 
and  is  perused  in  the  most  critical  season  of  a  man's 
everlasting  history ;  when,  in  a  very  peculiar  sense, 
every  means  of  grace,  and  this  among  the  rest,  will 
be  either  a  savour  of  death  unto  death,  or  of  life  unto 
1* 


a  INTRODUCTION. 

life,  to  the  reader.    Tremendous  idea  !  But  strictly 
true. 

Reader,  whosoever  thou  art,  it  is  no  presump- 
tuous thought  of  the  Author,  to  believe  that  thou 
wilt  remember  the  contents  of  this  small  Treatis 
in  eternity,  either  with  pleasure  and  gratitude  in 
heaven,  or  with  remorse  and  despair  in  hell. 
Can  it  then  be  an  impertinently  officious  act,  to 
remind  thee  how  to  read  with  advantage  what  I 
have  written  ? 

1.  Take  it  with  you  into  your  closet,  I  mean 
your  place  of  retirement  for  prayer  ;  for  of  course 
you  have  such  a  place.  Prayer  is  the  very  soul  of 
all  religion,  and  privacy  is  the  very  life  of  prayer 
itself.  This  is  a  book  to  be  read  when  you  are 
alone  ;  when  none  is  near  but  God  and  your  con 
science ;  when  you  are  not  hindered  by  the  pre 
sence  of  a  fellow-creature  from  the  utmost  freedom 
of  manner,  thought,  and  feeling  j  when  unobserved 
by  any  human  eye,  you  could  lay  down  the  book, 
and  meditate,  or  weep,  or  fall  upon  your  knees  to 
pray,  or  give  vent  to  your  feelings  in  short  and 
sudden  petitions  to  God.  I  charge  you  then  to  re- 
serve the  volume  for  your  private  seasons  of  devo- 
tion and  thoughtfulness  j  look  not  into  it  in  com- 


INTRODUCTION.  T 

pany,  except  it  be  the  company  of  a  poor,  trembling, 
and  anxious  Inquirer,  like  yourself. 

2.  Read  it  with  deep  seriousness.  Remember, 
it  speaks  to  you  of  God,  of  eternity,  of  salvation, 
of  heaven,  and  hell.  Take  it  up  with  something 
of  the  awe  "  that  warns  you  how  you  touch  a  holy 
thing."  It  meets  you  in  your  solicitude  about  your 
soul's  welfare,  it  meets  you  fleeing  from  destruc- 
tion, escaping  for  your  life,  crying  out  "  what  shall 
I  do  to  be  saved  j"  and  proffers  its  assistance  to 
guide  you  for  refuge  to  the  hope  set  before  you  in 
the  gospel.  It  is  itself  serious ;  its  Author  is  se- 
rious ;  it  is  on  a  serious  subject,  and  demands  to 
be  read  in  a  most  devout  and  serious  mood.  Take 
it  not  up  lightly  nor  read  it  lightly.  If  your  spirit 
be  not  as  solemn  as  usual,  do  not  touch  it ;  and 
when  you  do  touch  it,  command  away  every  other 
subject,  and  endeavour  to  realize  the  idea  that 
God,  salvation,  and  eternity,  are  before  you,  and 
that  you  are  actually  collecting  the  ingredients  of 
the  cup  of  salvation,  or  the  wormwood  and  gall  to 
embitter  the  cup  of  damnation. 

3.  Read  it  with  earnest  prayer.  It  can  do  you 
no  good,  without  God's  blessing  ;  nothing  short  of 
divine  grace  can  render  it  the  means  of  instructing 


•  INTRODUCTIOM. 

your  mind,  or  impressing  your  heart.  It  will  con 
vey  no  experimental  knowledge,  relieve  no  anxiety, 
dissipate  no  doubts,  afford  neither  peace  nor  sanc- 
tification,  if  God  do  not  give  his  Holy  Spirit 
And  if  you  would  hare  the  Spirit,  you  must  ask 
for  it.  If,  therefore,  you  wish  it  to  benefit  you,  do 
not  read  another  page,  till  you  have  most  fervent- 
ly, as  well  as  sincerely,  prayed  to  God  for  his 
blessing  to  accompany  the  perusal.  I  have  earn- 
estly prayed  to  God  to  enable  me  to  write  it,  and 
if  you  as  earnestly  pray  to  him  to  enable  you  to 
read  it,  there  is  thanksgiving  in  store  for  us  both ; 
for  usually  what  is  begun  in  prayer,  ends  in 
praise. 

4.  Read  but  a  chapter  at  a  time.  Books  that 
are  intended  to  instruct  and  impress,  should  be 
read  slowly.  Most  persons  read  too  much  at  a 
lime.  Your  object  is  not  merely  to  read  this  trea- 
tise through,  but  to  read  it  in  order  to  profit  by  it. 
Food  cannot  be  digested  well  if  too  much  be  eaten 
at  a  time,  so  neither  can  knowledge. 

5.  Meditate  upon  what  you  read.  Meditation 
bears  the  same  ofiice  in  the  mental  constitution,  as 
digestion  does  in  our  corporeal  system.  The  first 
mental  exercise  is  attention,  the  next  reflection.  If 


•^  INTRODUCTION.  9 

we  would  gain  a  correct  notion  of  an  object,  we 
must  not  only  see  it,  but  look  at  it;  and  so  also,  if 
we  would  gain  knowledge  from  books,  we  must 
not  only  see  the  matters  treated  of,  but  look  stea- 
dily at  them.  Nothing  but  meditation  can  enable 
us  to  understand  or  feel.  In  reading  the  scriptures 
and  religious  books,  we  are,  or  should  be,  reading 
for  eternity.  Salvation  depends  on  knowledge,  and 
knowledge  on  meditation.  At  almost  every  step 
of  our  progress  through  a  book  which  is  intended 
to  guide  us  to  salvation,  we  should  pause  and  ask, 
"  Do  I  understand  this  ?"  Our  profiting  depends 
not  on  the  quantity  we  read,  but  the  quantity  we 
understand.  One  verse  in  scripture  if  understood 
and  meditated  upon,  will  do  us  more  good  than  a 
chapter  or  even  a  book,  read  through  in  haste,  and 
without  reflection. 

6.  Read  regularly  through  in  order.  Do  not 
wander  about  from  one  part  to  another,  and  in  your 
eagerness  to  gain  relief,  pick  and  cull  particular 
portions,  on  account  of  their  supposed  suitableness 
to  your  case.  It  is  all  suitable,  and  will  be  found 
most  so  by  being  taken  together  and  as  a  whole. 
A  rambling  method  of  reading,  whether  it  be  the 
scriptures  or  other  books,  is  not  to  edification :  it 


10  INTUODDCTION. 

often  arises  from  levity  of  mind,  and  sometimes 
from  impatience,  both  of  which  are  states  very  un- 
friendly  to  improvement.  Remember,  it  is  salva- 
tion you  are  in  quest  of,  an  object  of  such  trans 
cendant  importance,  as  to  be  a  check  upon  all 
volatility,  and  of  such  value,  as  to  encourage  the 
most  exemplary  patience. 

7.  Read  calmly.  You  are  anxious  to  obtain 
eternal  life  ;  you  are  eagerly  asking,  "  What  shall 
I  do  to  be  saved."  But  still,  you  must  not  allow 
your  solicitude  so  far  to  agitate  your  mind,  as  to 
prevent  you  from  listening  calmly  and  cwAly  for 
the  answer.  In  circumstances  of  great  anxiety, 
men  are  sometimes  so  much  under  the  power  of 
excited  feelings,  that  the  judgment  is  bewildered, 
and  not  only  prevented  from  finding  out  what  is 
best  to  be  done,  but  from  seeing  it  when  it  is  laid 
down  by  another.  This  anxious  and  hurried  state 
of  mind,  is  very  common  in  those  who  are  just 
awakened  to  a  concern  about  salvation  ;  they  are 
restless  and  eager  to  gain  relief,  but  are  defeated 
in  their  object  by  their  very  solicitude  to  obtain  itj 
the  scriptures  are  read,  sermons  are  heard,  advice 
of  friends  is  received,  in  a  confused  state  of  mind. 
Now  you  must  guard  against  this,  and  endeavour 


INTRODUCTION.  11 

SO  far  to  control  your  thoughts  and  calm  your  per- 
turbation, as  to  attend  to  the  counsels  and  cautions 
which  are  here  suggested. 

8.  /  very  earnestly  recommend  the  perusal  of 
all  those  passages  of  scripture  and  chapters 
which  I  have  quoted,  and  which  for  the  sake  of 
brevity  I  have  only  referred  to,  without  quoting 
the  words.  I  lay  great  stress  upon  this.  Read 
this  book  with  your  bible  at  your  elbow,  and  do  not 
think  much  of  the  trouble  of  turning  to  the  passa- 
ges quoted.  If  unhappily  you  should  consider  me, 
or  my  little  volume,  as  a  substitute  for  the  bible,  in- 
stead of  a  guide  to  it,  I  have  done  you  an  injury, 
or  rather  you  have  done  yourself  an  injury  by  thus 
employing  it.  "As  new  born  babes,"  says  the 
Apostle,  "  desire  the  sincere  milk  of  the  word,  that 
ye  may  grow  thereby."  And  as  those  infants 
thrive  best  who  are  fed  from  the  breast  of  their 
mother,  so  those  converts  grow  most  in  grace,  who 
are  most  devoted  to  a  spiritual  perusal  of  the  Scrip- 
tures. If  therefore  I  stand  between  you  and  the 
"Word  of  God,  I  do  you  great  disservice  ;  but  if  I 
persuade  you  to  read  the  scriptures,  I  greatly  help 
you  in  your  religious  course.  Perhaps,  in  the 
present  state  of  your  mind,  it  is  not  desirous  to 


IS  tNTROOCCTIOlV. 

Degin  and  read  regularly  the  Word  of  God,  but  to 
go  through  those  passages  which  I  have  selected 
and  recommended. 

And  now  may  God,  of  his  great  goodness  and 
sovereign  grace,  deign  to  bless  the  perusal  of  this 
oook  to  many  immortal  souls,  by  making  it,  how- 
ever humble  the  production,  the  means  of  conduct- 
ing them  into  the  path  of  life. 


CHAPTER  I. 


DEEP  90UCITVDE  ABOCT  SALVATION  REASONABLE  AND 
NECESSARY. 

Reader,  you  have  lately  been  awakened  by  the 
mercy  of  God,  to  ask  with  some  degree  of  anxiety, 
that  momentous  question  "  What  shall  I  do  to  be 
saved  ?"  No  Avonder  you  should  be  anxious  ;  the 
wonder  is,  that  you  were  not  concerned  about  this 
matter  before,  that  you  are  not  more  deeply  solici- 
tous now,  and  that  all  who  possess  the  Word  of 
God  do  not  sympathize  with  you  in  this  anxiety. 
Every  thing  justifies  solicitude  and  condemns  indif- 
ference. Unconcern  about  the  soul,  indifference  to 
salvation,  is  a  most  irrational  as  well  as  a  most 
guilty  state  of  mind.  The  wildest  enthusiasm 
about  these  matters  is  less  surprising  and  unreason- 
able than  absolute  carelessness,  as  will  appear  from 
the  following  considerations. 

1.  You  are  an  immortal  creature,  a  being  born 
for  eternity,  a  creature  that  will  never  go  out  of 
existence.  Millions  of  ages,  as  numerous  as  the 
sands  upon  the  shore,  and  the  drops  of  the  ocean,  and 


14  ANXIETY. 

th6  leaves  of  all  the  forests  on  the  globe,  will  not 
shorten  the  duration  of  your  being;  eternity,  vast 
eternity,  incomprehensible  eternity,  is  before  you. 
Every  day  brings  you  nearer  to  everlasting  torments 
or  felicity.  You  may  die  any  moment,  and  you  are 
as  near  to  heaven  or  hell  as  you  are  to  death.  No 
wonder  you  are  asking  "  What  shall  I  do  to  be 
saved?" 

2.  But  the  reasonableness  of  this  anxiety  ap- 
pears, if  you  add  to  this  consideration  that  you 
are  sinners.  You  have  broken  God's  law ;  you 
have  rebelled  against  his  authority  ;  you  have  act- 
ed as  an  enemy  to  him,  and  made  him  your  ene- 
my. If  you  had  committed  only  one  single  act  of 
transgression,  your  situation  would  be  alarming. 
One  sin  would  have  subjected  you  to  the  sentence 
of  his  law,  and  exposed  you  to  his  displeasure : 
but  you  have  committed  sins  more  in  number  and 
greater  in  magnitude  than  you  know,  or  can  con- 
ceive of.  Your  whole  life  has  been  one  continued 
sin :  you  have,  so  far  as  God  is  considered,  done 
nothing  but  sin.  Your  transgressions  have  sent 
up  to  heaven  a  cry  for  vengeance.  You  are  actu- 
ally under  the  curse  of  the  Almighty. 

3.  Consider  what  the  loss  of  the  soul  includes. 
The  loss  of  the  soul,  is  the  loss  of  every  thing  dear 
to  man  as  an  immortal  creature ;  it  is  the  loss  of 
heaven,  with  all  its  honours,  felicities,  and  glories; 
it  is  the  loss  of  God's  favour,  which  is  the  life  of 
all  rational  creatures ;  it  is  the  loss  of  ever^'  thinij 


ANXIGTY.  16 

that  can  contribute  to  our  happiness ;  and  it  is  the 
loss  of  hope,  the  last  refuge  of  the  wretched.  The 
loss  of  the  soul  includes  in  it  all  that  is  contained 
in  that  dreadful  word,  Hell ; — it  is  the  eternal  en- 
durance of  the  wrath  of  God ;  it  is  the  lighting 
down  of  the  curse  of  the  Almighty  upon  the  human 
spirit,  or  rather  it  is  the  falling  of  the  human  spirit 
into  that  curse,  as  into  a  lake  that  burneth  with  fire 
and  brimstone.  How  true  as  well  as  solemn,  are 
the  words  of  Christ,  "  What  shall  it  profit  a  man 
if  he  gain  the  whole  worlds  and  lose  his  own  soul ; 
or  what  shall  a  tnan  give  in  exchange  for  his 
soul"  All  the  tears  that  ever  have  been  or  ever 
will  be  shed  on  the  face  of  the  earth  ;  all  the  groans 
that  ever  have  been  or  ever  will  be  heaved ;  all  the 
anguish  that  ever  has  been  or  ever  will  be  endured 
by  all  the  inhabitants  of  the  world,  through  all  the 
ages  of  time,  do  not  make  up  an  equal  amount  of 
misery  to  that  which  is  included,  in  the  loss  of  one 
human  soul.  Justly  therefore  do  you  say,  who  are 
exposed  to  this  misery,  "  What  shall  I  do  to  be 
saved  ?" 

4.  This  solicitude  is  reasonable,  if  we  consider 
that  the  eternal  loss  of  the  soul  is  not  a  rare,  but 
a  very  common  occurrence.  It  is  so  tremendous 
a  catastrophe,  that  if  it  happened  only  once  in  a 
year,  or  once  in  a  century,  so  as  to  render  it  barely 
possible  that  it  should  happen  to  you,  it  would  be 
unpardonable  carelessness,  not  to  feel  some  solici- 
tude about  the  matter :  how  much  more  then,  when. 


n  ANXIETY. 

alas !  it  is  an  every  day  calamity.  So  far  frum  its 
being  a  rare  thing  for  men  to  go  to  hell,  it  is  a 
much  rarer  thing  for  them  to  go  to  heaven.  Our 
Lord  tells  us  that  the  road  to  destruction  is  throng- 
ed, while  the  way  to  life  is  travelled  by  few.  Hell 
opens  its  mouth  wide,  and  swallows  up  multitudes 
in  perdition.  Hoav  alarming  is  the  idea,  and  how 
probable  the  fact,  that  you  may  be  among  this 
number.  Some  that  read  these  pages  will  very 
likely  spend  their  eternity  with  lost  souls ;  it  is 
therefore  your  wisdom,  as  well  as  your  duty,  to 
cherish  the  anxiety  which  says,  "  }yhat  shall  I Uo 
to  be  saved  ?" 

5.  Salcation  is  possible,  for  if  it  were  not  it 
would  be  useless  to  be  anxious  about  it.  It  Avould 
be  cruel,  and  only  tormenting  you  before  your  time, 
to  encourage  an  anxiety  which  could  never  be  re- 
lieved by  the  possession  of  the  object  which  excites 
it  Who,  if  such  a  thing  Avere  possible,  would  say 
any  thing  to  "  lost  souls  in  prison,"  by  way  of  en- 
couraging in  them  a  solicitude  to  be  saved?  But 
yoicr  case  is  not  hopeless ;  you  may  be  saved  ;  you 
are  invited  to  be  saved.  Christ  has  died  for  your 
salvation,  and  God  waits  to  save  you  ;  all  the  op- 
portunities and  advantages,  and  helps,  and  encour- 
agements to  salvation  are  round  you;  the  blessing 
is  within  your  reach  ;  it  is  brought  near  to  you  ;  and 
it  will  be  your  own  fault  if  you  do  not  possess  it. 
Your  solicitude  is  not  therefore  directed  to  an  un- 
attainable object. 


A  N  X I E  r  y .  17 

6.  Salvation  has  been  obtained  by  multitudes, 
and  why  may  it  tiot  be  obtained  by  you  ?  Mil- 
lions in  heaven  are  already  saved  ;  myriads  more 
are  on  the  road  to  salvation.  God  is  still  as  will- 
ing, and  Christ  is  still  as  able  to  save  you.  as  them  ; 
why  then  should  not  you  be  saved  7 

7.  And  then  what  a  blessing — Salvation  !  A 
blessing  that  includes  all  the  riches  of  grace,  and 
all  the  greater  riches  of  glory ;  deliverance  from 
sin,  death,  and  hell ;  the  possession  of  pardon,  peace, 
holiness,  and  heaven ;  a  blessing,  in  short,  immense, 
infinite,  everlasting :  which  occupied  the  mind  of 
Deity  from  eternity,  was  procured  by  the  Son  of 
God  upon  the  cross,  and  which  will  fill  eternity 
with  its  happiness.  O,  how  little,  how  insignifi- 
cant, how  contemptible  is  the  highest  object  of 
human  ambition,  to  say  nothing  of  the  loxcer  mat- 
ters of  men's  desires,  compared  with  salvation. 
Riches,  rank,  fame,  honours,  are  but  as  the  small 
dust  of  the  balance  when  compared  with  the  sal- 
vation that  is  in  Christ  Jesus,  with  eternal  glory 
Who  that  pretends  to  the  least  regard  to  his  own 
happiness  would  not  say,  "  What  shall  I  do  to  be 
saved  ?" 

8.  The  circumstances  in  which  you  are  placed 
for  obtaining  this  blessing  are  partly  favourable 

and  partly  unfavourable.  The  love  of  God  is 
infinite  ;  the  merit  of  Christ  is  infinite ;  the  power 
of  the  Holy  Spirit  is  infinite  ;  Jehovah  is  willing 
and  waiting  to  save  you  ;  Christ  invites ;  all  things 


18  ANXIETY. 

are  ready,  and  the  grace  of  God  offered  for  your 
conversion.  On  the  other  hand,  you  have  a  cor- 
rupt heart,  and  are  placed  in  a  world  where  every 
thing  seems  to  combine  to  draw  off  your  attention 
from  salvation,  and  to  cause  you  to  neglect  it. 
Satan  is  busy  to  blind  your  mind  ;  the  world  to  fill 
your  imagination  and  heart  with  other  objects,  so 
that  even  the  "  Righteous  are  scarcely  saved." 
You  cannot  quit  the  world  and  go  into  monasteries 
and  convents,  but  must  seek  the  salvation  of  your 
soul,  amidst  the  cngro.'-sing  cares  of  this  busy  and 
troublesome  world,  where  anxiety  about  the  body 
is  so  liable  to  put  away  anxiety  about  the  soul,  and 
things  seen  and  temporal  are  likely  to  withdraw 
the  attention  from  things  that  are  unseen  and  eter- 
nal. O,  how  difficult  is  it  to  pay  just  enough  re- 
gard to  present  things,  and  yet  not  too  much  !  How 
difficult  to  attend  properly  to  the  affairs  both  of 
earth  and  heaven  ;  to  be  busy  for  two  worlds  at 
once !  These  circumstances  may  well  excite  your 
solicitude. 

Anxiety,  then,  deep  anxiety  about  salvation,  is 
the  most  reasonable  thing  in  the  world :  and  we 
feel  almost  ready  to  ask,  can  that  man  have  a  soul, 
or  know  that  he  has  one,  who  is  careless  about  its 
eternal  happiness  ?  Is  he  a  man,  or  a  brute  ?  Is 
he  in  the  exercise  of  his  reason,  or  is  he  a  maniac  ? 
Ever  walking  on  the  edge  of  the  precipice  that 
beetles  over  the  bottomless  pit,  and  not  anxious 
about  salvation  !     O  fatal,  awful,  destructive  in- 


ANXIETT.  19 

difference !  cherish  then  ijour  solicitude.  You 
must  be  anxious,  you  ought  to  be  so,  you  cannot 
he  saved  without  it,  for  no  man  ever  was,  or  ever 
will  be.  The  salvation  of  a  lost  soul,  is  such  a 
stupendous  deliverance,  such  an  infinitely  momen 
tous  concern,  that  it  is  impossible  in  the  very 
nature  of  things,  it  should  be  bcstov/ed  on  any  one, 
Avho  is  not  in  earnest  to  obtain  it.  This  is  the 
very  end  of  your  existence,  the  purpose  for  which 
God  created  you.  Apart  from  this  you  are  an 
enigma  in  creation ;  a  mystery  in  nature.  Why 
has  God  given  you  faculties  which  seem  to  point 
to  eternity,  and  desires  which  go  forward  to  it,  if 
he  has  not  destined  you  for  it  ?  Eternal  salva- 
tion 13  THE  GREAT  END  OF  LIFE  :  GET  WHAT  YOU  WILL, 
IF  YOU  LOSE    THIS   YOU    HAVE    LOST   THE   PURPOSE    OP 

EXISTENCE.  Could  you  obtain  all  the  wealth  of 
the  globe  ;  could  you  rise  to  the  possession  of  uni- 
versal empire  ;  could  you  by  the  most  splendid 
discoveries  in  science,  or  the  most  useful  inven- 
tions in  art,  or  the  most  magnificent  achievements 
in  literature,  fill  the  earth  with  the  fame  of  your 
exploits,  and  send  down  your  name  with  honour  to 
the  latest  ages  of  time,  still  if  you  lost  the  salvation 
of  your  soul,  you  would  have  lived  in  vain.  What- 
ever you  may  gain,  life  will  be  a  lost  adventure,  if 
you  do  not  gain  salvation.  The  poorest  creature 
that  ever  yet  obtained  eternal  life  through  faith  ia 
Jesus  Christ,  although  he  had  but  a  mere  glimmer- 
ing of  intellect,  just  enough  of  understanding  to 


aO  ANXIETY. 

apprehend  the  nature  of  repentance;  although  he 
lived  out  his  days  amidst  the  squalid  poverty  and 
repulsive  scenes  of  a  hovel  or  a  workhouse ;  al- 
though he  was  unknown  even  among  the  poor; 
and  although  when  he  died  was  buried  in  the  pau 
per's  grave  on  which  no  tear  was  ever  shed,  the 
condition  of  even  this  poor  refuse  of  society,  is  in- 
finitely to  be  preferred  to  that  of  the  most  success- 
ful merchant,  the  greatest  conqueror,  the  profound- 
est  philosopher,  or  the  sublimest  poet,  that  ever 
existed,  if  he  lived  and  died  without  salvation. 
The  lowest  place  in  heaven  is  infinitely  to  be  pre- 
ferred to  the  highest  place  on  earth.  Go  on  then 
to  urge  the  question,  "  What  shall  I  do  to  be 
saved  ?"  Let  no  one  turn  ofi"  your  attention  from 
this  matter.  As  long  as  you  covet  this,  your  eye 
and  heart  and  hope  are  fixed  on  the  sublimest 
object  in  the  universe;  and  when  officious,  but 
ignorant  friends,  would  persuade  you  that  you  are 
too  anxious,  point  them  to  the  bottomless  pit,  and 
ask  them  if  any  one  ca7i  be  too  anxious  to  escape  its 
torments?  Point  them, to  heaven,  and  ask  them, 
if  any  one  can  be  too  anxious  to  obtain  its  glories? 
Point  them  to  eternity,  and  ask  them  if  any  one 
can  be  too  anxious  to  secure  immortality  ?  Point 
them  to  the  cross  of  Christ,  and  ask  them  if  any 
one  can  be  too  anxious  to  secure  the  object  for 
which  he  died  ? 


CHAPTER   II. 


RELIGIOUS  IMPRESSIONS,  AND  THE  IMMENSE  IMPORT- 
ANCE OF  RETAINING  AND  DEEPENING  TIIEM. 

Awakened  and  anxious  Sinner,  your  present 
situation  is  a  most  momentous  one.  You  are  in 
the  crisis  of  your  religious  iiistory,  and  of  your 
eternal  destiny.  No  tongue  can  tell,  no  pen  de- 
scribe, the  importance  of  your  present  circumstan- 
ces. You  are  just  arousing  from  your  long  slum- 
ber of  sin  and  spiritual  death,  and  will  now  either 
rise  up  and  run  the  race  that  is  set  before  you,  or 
will  soon  sink  back  again,  as  those  are  likely  to  do 
who  are  just  disturbed,  into  a  deeper  sleep  than  ever. 
The  Spirit  of  God  is  striving  Avith  you,  and  you 
will  yield  to  his  suggestions,  and  give  yourself 
up  to  be  led  by  his  gracious  influence,  or  you 
will  grieve  him  by  resistance  and  neglect,  and 
compel  him  to  depart.  God  is  drawing  you  with 
the  cords  of  love  ;  Christ  is  saying,  "  Behold  I 
stand  at  the  door  and  knock."  The  Spirit  is  stri- 
ving with  you.  Yield  to  these  silken  bands ;  open 
to  that  gracious  Saviour ;  grieve  not,  quench  not, 
the  motions  of  that  divine   Spirit.     Salvation  is 


M  IMPRESSIONS. 

come  near,  and  heaven  is  opening  to  your  souL 
Remember  you  may  quench  the  Spirit  not  only  by 
direct  resistance,  but  by  careless  neglect.  Do  not 
I  beseech  you  be  insensible  to  your  situation.  A 
single  conviction  ought  not  to  be  treated  with  in- 
difference, nor  a  single  impression  be  overlooked. 
You  cannot  long  remain  as  you  now  are,  your  con- 
victions will  soon  end  in  conversion,  or  in  greater 
indifference :  like  the  blossoms  of  spring,  they  will 
soon  set  in  fruit,  or  fall  to  the  ground.  Should 
your  present  solicitude  diminish,  it  will  soon  sub- 
side altogether ;  and  if  it  subside,  it  may  probably 
never  be  revived.  It  is  a  most  dangerous  thing  to 
tamper  or  trifle  with  convictions  of  sin,  and  reli- 
gious impressions.  If  you  would  not  lose  your 
present  feelings,  lake  the  following  advice  : — 

1.  Admit  the  possibility  of  losing  them.  Do 
not  presume  that  it  is  impossible  for  you  to  relapse. 
Let  there  be  no  approach  to  the  vain  glorious,  self- 
confident  temper  of  the  apostle  Peter,  who  said, 
"  though  all  should  forsake  thee,  yet  will  not  I." 
Nothing  is  more  common  than  mere  transient  de- 
votions. The  character  of  Pliable,  in  the  Pilgrim's 
Progress,  is  one  of  every  day's  occurrence.  There 
are  very  few  that  hear  the  gospel  who  are  not  at 
one  time,  or  other,  the  subject  of  religious  impres- 
sions. Multitudes  who  are  lifting  up  their  eyes  in 
torment,  are  looking  back  upon  lost  impressions. 
Do  not  conclude  that  because  you  are  now  so  con- 
cerned about  salvation,  you  must  be  saved.    O  no. 


IMPRESSIONS.  n 

Many  that  will  read  these  pages,  under  the  deep- 
est solicitude,  will  add  to  the  number  of  backsliders. 
Self-confidence  will  be  sure  to  end  in  confusion; 
while  self-diffidence  is  the  way  to  stand. 

2.  Dread  the  idea  of  relapsing  into  indiffer- 
ence. Let  the  bare  apprehension  make  you  trem- 
ble. Exclaim  in  an  almost  agony  of  spirit,  "  Oh, 
if  I  should  prove  treacherous ;  if  my  goodness 
should  be  as  the  morning  cloud  or  early  dew ;  if 
this  heart  of  mine,  which  now  seems  so  much 
in  earnest,  should  become  indifferent ;  if  my  soul, 
which  now  seems  not  far  from  the  kingdom  of 
God,  should  go  back  from  its  very  gates  and 
walk  the  ways  of  God  no  more ;  if  my  friends  or 
minister  should  meet  me  in  a  retreating  course, 
and  have  to  say  to  me,  '  you  did  run  well,  what 
has  hindered  you.'  Dreadful  change  !  May  God 
in  mercy  prevent  it."  My  dear  reader,  let  these  be 
your  reflections.  Let  death  seem  to  you  to  be  rather 
coveted  than  backsliding ;  let  it  be  your  feeling 
that  you  would  rather  go  forward  in  the  pursuit  of 
salvation,  though  you  were  to  die  the  moment 
your  sins  were  pardoned,  than  gain  long  life  and 
the  whole  world,  by  going  back  to  indifference. 
Next  to  the  loss  of  the  soul,  there  is  nothing  so 
dreadful  in  itself,  nor  so  much  to  be  dreaded,  as  the 
loss  of  religious  impressions  ;  and  the  latter  leads 
on  to  the  former. 

3.  Make  it  a  subject  of  devout  and  earnest 
prayer,  that  God  vould  render  your  impressions 


M  IMPRESdIONS. 

permanent,  by  the  effectual  aid  of  his  Holy  Spirit, 
Reader,  here  learn  these  two  lessons,  that  God 
alone  can  seal  these  emotions  upon  your  heart; 
and  he  can  be  expected  to  do  it  only  in  answer  to 
prayer.  It  is  of  infinite  consequence  that  you  should, 
at  this  stage  of  your  religious  history,  deeply  ponder 
this  great  truth,  that  all  true  piety  in  the  heart  of 
man  is  the  work  of  God's  Spirit.  Do  not  read  an-* 
other  line  till  you  have  well  weighed  that  senti- 
ment, and  have  so  wrought  it  into  your  heart,  as 
to  make  it  become  a  principle  of  action,  a  rule  of 
conduct.  Every  conviction  will  be  extinguished, 
every  impression  will  be  effaced,  unless  God  him- 
self, by  his  own  sovereign  and  eflRcacious  grace, 
render  them  permanent.  If  God  do  not  put  forth 
his  power,  you  will  as  certainly  lose  every  piou3 
emotion  as  you  now  possess  any.  You  may  as 
rationally  expect  light  without  the  sun,  as  piety 
without  God.  Not  a  single  really  holy  feeling  will 
ever  come  into  the  mind,  or  be  kept  there,  but  by 
God.  Hence,  the  object  and  the  use  of  prayer,  are 
to  obtain  this  gracious  influence.  Prayer  is  the 
first  step  in  the  divine  life,  prayer  is  the  second, 
prayer  is  the  third,  and  indeed  it  is  necessary 
through  the  whole  christian  course.  Awakened 
sinner,  you  must  pray.  You  must  find  opportunity 
to  be  alone  ;  you  must  cry  mightily  unto  God;  you 
must  implore  his  aid ;  you  must  give  up  a  portion 
of  your  sleep  if  you  can  command  no  time  in  the 
day  for  prayer.     In  one  sense  you  should   pray 


^  I  JI  P  R  E  S  3  I  0  N  3 .  26 

always.  The  spirit  of  prayer  should  dwell  in  you 
and  never  depart,  and  be  continually  leading  you 
to  cjaculatory  petitions,  in  the  house  and  by  the 
way,  upon  your  bed  and  in  your  occupations ;  and 
this  should  be  the  subject  of  your  petitions,  that 
your  impressions  may  not  be  permitted  to  die  away 
but  go  on  to  conversion.  You  may  read  books, 
consult  friends,  hear  sermons,  make  resolutions  ; 
but  books,  friends,  sermons,  resolutions,  will  all 
fail,  if  God  do  not  give  his  Holy  Spirit.  It  is  very 
common  for  beginners  to  trust  too  much  to  means, 
and  too  little  to  God.  If  you  will  not,  or  even  if 
you  suppose  you  cannot^  find  time  for  private  prayer, 
you  may  as  well  stop  at  once  and  give  up  the  pur- 
suit of  salvation,  for  you  cannot  be  saved  without  it. 
4.  If  you  would  retain  your  impressions,  and 
persevere  in  the  pursuit  of  salvation,  you  must  at 
once  determine  to  give  up  whatever  you  know  to 
he  sinful  in  your  conduct^  and  you  must  also  be 
■very  watchful  against  sin.  Thus  runs  the  direc- 
tion of  the  word  of  God,  "  Seek  the  Lord  while  he 
may  be  found,  call  upon  him  while  he  is  near  ;  let 
the  wicked  forsake  his  way  and  the  unrighteous 
man  his  thoughts ;  and  let  him  return  unto  the 
Lord,  and  he  will  have  mercy  upon  him,  and  to 
our  God,  for  he  will  abundantly  pardon." — Isaiah, 
Iv.  6,  7.  To  the  same  effect  is  the  language  of  one 
of  Job's  friends.  ''  If  thou  prepare  thine  heart  and 
stretch  out  thine  hands  towards  him,  if  iniquity  be 
in  thy  hand  put  it  away." — Job  xi.  13,  14.  It  is 
3 


26  IMPRESSIONS. 

right  for  you  at  once  to  know,  that  the  salvation 
which  is  in  Christ  is  a  deliverance/rom  sin.  "  Thou 
shall  call  his  name  Jesus,  for  he  shall  save  his 
people  from  their  sins,"  said  the  angel  to  Joseph, 
when  he  announced  the  approaching  nativity  cf 
Christ,  "  Who  gave  himself  for  us  that  he  might 
redeem  us  from  all  iniquity,  and  purify  unto  him- 
self a  peculiar  people,  zealous  of  good  works," — 
Titus  ii.  14.  It  is  of  immense  consequence  that 
you  should  at  once  have  a  distinct  idea  that  the 
salvation  you  are  beginning  to  seek,  is  a  holy  call- 
ing. Whatever  is  sinful  in  your  temper,  such  as 
malice,  revenge,  violent  passions  ;  or  whatever  is 
sinful  in  your  words,  in  the  way  of  Ailsehood,  rail- 
ing, backbiting  ;  or  whatever  is  sinful  in  your  prac- 
tice, in  the  way  of  sabbath  breaking,  injustice, 
unkindness,  undutifulness  to  parents  or  masters, 
must  immediately  be  given  up  without  hesitation, 
reluctance,  or  reserve.  The  retaining  of  one 
single  sin,  which  you  know  to  be  such,  will  soon 
stifle  all  your  convictions,  and  efiace  all  your  im- 
pressions. If  you  are  not  willing  to  give  up  your 
sins,  it  is  not  salvation  you  are  seeking.  You 
may  suppose  you  wish  to  become  a  Christian, 
and  you  read  the  bible,  and  offer  up  prayers,  and 
regularly  hear  sermons,  and  wonder  that  you  do 
not  get  on  in  religion ;  but  perhaps  the  reason  is, 
you  are  not  willing  to  give  up  your  sins,  your 
worldly-mindedness,  your  carnal  pleasures,  or  some 
practice  that  you  find  to  be  gainful  or  agreeable. 


IMPRE33I0NS.  27 

although  you  know  it  to  be  sinful.  Well  then, 
you  cannot  get  on  in  this  state  of  mind.  Do,  do, 
therefore,  look  carefully  within,  examine  faithfully 
your  conduct,  and  see  whether  there  be  in  you  any 
thing,  which  you  know  to  be  wrong,  but  which  you 
are  nevertheless  unwilling  to  abandon ; — if  there 
is,  it  is  vain  for  you  to  think  of  retaining  your  im- 
pressions, and  becoming  a  Christian.  And  let  me 
also  remind  you,  that  this  willingness  to  give  up 
your  sins  must  be  immediate  ;  you  must  desire  and 
purpose  an  instant  abandonment  of  sin.  Augus- 
tine confesses  that  he  used  to  pray  to  God  to  con- 
vert him,  but  with  this  reservation,  "  Lord,  not  yet." 
He  wished  to  live  a  little  longer  in  the  gratifica- 
tion of  his  sinful  lusts,  before  he  was  completely 
turned  to  the  Lord  from  his  evil  ways.  Thus  there 
are  some  who  are,  or  profess  to  be,  desirous  to  be 
converted  at  some  time  or  other,  and  who  are  will- 
ing to  give  up  their  sins,  but  "not  yet."  There  is 
a  mixture  of  feeling,  a  concern  to  be  saved,  but  a 
lingering  love  of  some  sin,  and  the  matter  is  settled 
by  a  resolution  to  sacrifice  the  sin  at  some  future 
time.  Awful  delusion !  God  says  now,  and  you 
must  reply,  yes.  Lord,  now.  I  would  now  be  con- 
verted from  this  and  every  sin. 

And  not  only  must  you  be  willing,  to  give  up 
sin,  but  you  must  loatch  most  carefully  against 
it.  You  are  in  a  most  tender  and  delicate  state  of 
mind  ;  and  a  very  small  indulgence  of  sin,  may  put 
away  all  your  religious  feelings.     Even  the  giving 


38  liMPRESSIOKS.     . 

way  to  a  baJ  temper,  may  do  irreparable  mischief 
to  your  soul,  and  hinder  your  pursuit  of  eternal 
life.  You  ought  especially  to  watch  against  your 
besetting  sin,  whatever  it  be,  according  to  the  ex- 
hortation of  the  apostle. — Heb.  xii.  1,  At  the  same 
time  I  would  caution  you  against  being  discour- 
aged by  occasional  failures ;  you  are  not  to  throw 
all  up  in  despair  because  you  are  occasionally 
overcome  by  temptation.  Instances  of  this  kind 
should  make  you  more  watchful,  but  not  despond- 
ing.    I  shall  say  more  on  this  subject  hereafter. 

5.  It  is  of  great  consequence  for  you,  to  sepa- 
rate yourselves  from  irreligious  or  warldly  com- 
panions. It  will  require  some  courage,  and  call 
for  some  painful  self-denial,  to  retire  from  the 
society  of  those  with  whom  you  have  been  in  the 
habit  of  associating,  but  if  they  are  ungodly  per- 
sons, it  must  be  done.  Read  what  God  and  good 
men  have  said  on  this  subject. — Psalm  cxix.  62. — 
Prov.  i.  11, 16.  ii.  12,  19.  xxxix.  6.  xiii.  20.— 1  Cor. 
XV.  33.  2  Cor.  vi.  14,  18.  Comply  with  these  ad- 
monitions, and  quit  the  society  of  all  who  think 
lightly  of  religion.  Their  company  and  conversa- 
tion will  soon  draw  you  aside  from  the  ways  of 
piety.  Their  levity,  their  indifference,  their  neg- 
lect of  salvation,  will  be  destruction  to  all  your  re- 
ligious feelings.  Even  christians  of  long  standing, 
and  of  deeply  rooted  piety,  find  such  society  very 
unfriendly  to  their  religion,  and  avoid  it  as  much 
as  possible ;  how  much  more  dangerous  Avill  it  be 


*     4 


IMPRESSIONS, 


to  yoic,  whose  religion  is  yet  so  feeble  and  incapa- 
ble of  much  opposition  ?  Even  if  such  compa- 
nions do  not  attempt  to  laugh  or  reason  you  out  of 
your  concern  for  your  soul,  which,  however,  they 
will  be  almost  sure  to  do,  and  never  cease  till  they 
have  succeeded,  their  very  conversation  and  gene 
ral  disposition  will  wither  your  tender  piety,  as  an 
east  wind  does  the  blossoms  of  spring.  You  must 
then  give  up  either  your  sinful  associates,  or  your 
salvation;  for  if  you  cannot,  or  rather  will  not 
break  off  from  such  companions  as  are  opposed  to 
religion,  you  may  as  well  relinquish  all  hope  of 
eternal  life,  since  the  preservation  of  pious  feeling, 
and  communion  with  the  ungodly,  are  utterly  in- 
compatible with  each  other. 

6.  It  is  transcendently  important  that  you  should 
use  all  those  script7iral  means  which  are  calcu- 
lated and  intended  to  keep  up  a  due  sense  of  re- 
ligion in  the  mind.  These  you  must  immediately 
and  most  earnestly  employ :  no  time  is  to  be  lost, 
no  labour  is  to  be  spared,  no  sacrifice  is  to  be 
grudged.  Your  soul  and  all  her  eternal  interests 
are  at  stake.  ^  Hell  is  to  be  escaped,  heaven  is  to 
be  sought,  Satan  is  to  be  conquered,  salvation  is  to 
be  obtained.  Your  enemies  are  numerous  and 
mighty  ;  your  difficulties  are  immense,  though  not 
insurmountable.  Every  energ-y  must  be  roused, 
every  exertion  must  be  made,  every  help  called  in, 
every  lawful  means  employed.  Read  the  follow- 
ing passages  of  God's  Word,  and  see  if  religion  be 
3* 


30  IMPRESSIONS. 

a  light  and  easy  work.  "  Seek  first  the  kingdom 
of  God  and  his  righteousness." — Matt.  yi.  33. 
"  Strive  to  enter  in  at  the  straight  gate,  for  many 
I  say  will  seek  to  enter  in  and  shall  not  be  able." 
— Luke  xiii.  24.  ^^  Labour  for  the  meat  that  en- 
dureth  to  eternal  life." — John  vi.  27.  "  Fight  the 
good  tight  of  faith,  and  lay  hold  of  eternal  life." — 
1  Tim.  vi.  12.  "  Whosoever  will  come  after  me, 
let  him  deny  himself,  and  take  up  his  cross,  and 
follow  me." — Mark  viii.  34,  38.  What  metaphors ! 
What  language  !  We  might  almost  feel  prompted 
to  ask,  "  Who  then  can  be  saved,  if  such  anxiety, 
such  effort,  be  necessary."  Even  the  righteous  are 
scarcely  saved.  If  you  do  not,  like  David,  seek  the 
favour  of  God  with  your  whole  hearty  you  will 
never  have  it.  You  may  more  rationally  think  to 
reach  the  top  of  the  highest  mountain  on  earth 
without  labour,  than  to  imagine  you  can  reach 
heaven  without  effort.  If  you  suppose  difeiD  wishes 
or  a  little  exertion  will  do,  you  mistake,  and  the 
sooner  you  are  undeceived  the  better.  But  I  will 
now  specify  the  means  you  should  use. 

Immediately  commence  the  devout  and  diligent 
perusal  of  the  scriptures.  "  As  new  born  babes 
desire  the  sincere  milk  of  the  word,  that  ye  may 
grow  thereby," — 1  Pet.  ii.  1.  The  bible  is  the  food 
of  the  soul,  even  as  the  mother's  milk  is  for  the 
nourishment  of  her  child  ;  and  you  may  as  easily 
believe  that  the  infant  will  grow  without  food,  as 
that  ybu  will  grow  in  knowledge  or  grace,  without 


IMPRESSIOIiS.  II 

the  scriptures.  Read  both  for  instruction,  and  for 
impression :  read  attentively  and  with  meditation : 
pause  and  ponder  as  you  go  along.  Neglect  not 
the  Book  of  God  for  the  books  of  men  ;  the  latter 
may  be  read  as  the  interpreters,  but  not  as  the  sub- 
stitutes of  the  former.  If  you  do  not  find  the  bible 
so  interesting  to  you  at  first  as  you  expected  and 
wished,  still  go  on,  it  will  grow  upon  acquaintance. 
Nothing  is  so  likely  to  keep  up  and  to  deepen  re- 
ligious impressions,  as  the  serious  perusal  of  the 
scriptures  ;  they  are  the  very  element  of  devotion. 
Of  two  inquirers  after  salvation,  he  will  be  most 
likely  to  persevere  and  to  grow  in  piety,  who  is 
most  diligent  in  reading  the  Word  of  God.  Do  not 
be  disheartened  by  finding  much  that  you  cannot 
at  present  understand ;  there  is  much  that  you  can 
understand.  Read  in  course^  and  instead  of  be- 
ginning the  Bible,  and  going  regularly  through  it, 
take  the  Psalms,  the  Gospels,  and  the  Epistles,  and 
make  these  the  first  portion  you  attend  to. 

Attend  with  regularity  and  seriousness  upon 
the  preaching  of  the  gospel.  Sermons  are  invalu- 
able helps  to  the  anxious  inquirer.  Hear  the  word 
preached  with  a  deep  conviction,  that  it  will  do 
you  no  good  but  as  God  blesses  it,  and  therefore 
look  above  the  minister  to  God  by  prayer.  Pray 
before  you  go  to  hear  sermons ;  pray  while  you 
hear;  and  pray  after  you  have  heard.  Go  from 
the  closet  of  private  prayer  to  the  place  of  public 
worship,  and  from  the  place  of  public  worship  back 


n  IMPHESSIONS. 

again  to  prayer.  Apply  the  word  as  you  hear  it 
to  yourself,  hear  with  attention,  hear  as  for  your- 
self, hear  as  for  salvation.  Avoid  a  light  and 
careless  way  of  attending  upon  the  means  of  grace. 
Grow  not  sinfully  familiar  with  sacred  things. 
Avoid  general  conversation  after  sermons ;  and 
gratify  not  those  evil  spirits  who  desire  to  steal 
away  the  good  seed  of  the  word  from  those  hearts 
in  which  it  is  sown.  Diligently  attend  meetings 
for  social  'prayer :  the  prayers  of  good  men  are 
like  gentle  breezes  to  fan  the  spark  of  piety  in  the 
young  convert's  heart.  The  prayer  meeting  is 
an  atmosphere  of  devotion.  Inquirers,  frequent 
prayer  meetings,  then ;  it  is  there  the  solemn  im- 
pressions of  sacred  things  are  strengthened.  You 
are  there  prayed  with,  and  prayed  for :  you  there 
hear  what  more  advanced  christians  feel  and  de- 
sire, and  their  prayers  are  some  of  the  best  instruc- 
tions you  can  receive :  there  you  begin  to  have 
your  hearts  knit  together  in  love  with  the  people 
of  God. 

You  should  seek  the  instructions  and  counsels 
of  some  pious  friend,  with  whom  you  should  be 
free  and  full  in  laying  open  the  state  of  your 
mind.  Frequent  the  company  of  the  righteous, 
and  at  once  identify  yourself  with  them.  You 
must  not  be  ashamed  to  be  seen  with  the  people 
of  God,  but  be  willing  to  let  your  attachment  to 
his  cause,  and  your  adherence  to  his  people,  be 
dpenly  known.     Many  persons  wish  to  come  and 


1^   ♦ 


IMPRESSIONS.  33 


make  secret  peace  with  God,  because  fear,  or  pride, 
or  interest,  remonstrates  against  an  open  admission 
of  his  claims.  They  keep  their  convictions  to 
themselves,  and  hence  they  sometimes  soon  die 
away  for  want  of  support.  But  it  is  especially 
desirable,  that  you  should  make  known  your 
mind  to  your  minister.  Go  without  delay  to  him. 
Perhaps  he  has  meetings  for  inquirers,  at  any  rate 
he  ought  to  have,  and  even  if  he  has  not,  he  will 
be  glad  to  hear  your  account  of  yourselves,  and 
tenderly  sympathize  with  you  under  your  anxieties. 
If  he  be  like  his  Divine  Master,  he  will  "  gather 
the  lambs  of  the  flock  in  his  arms,  carry  them  in  his 
bosom,  and  gently  lead  those  that  are  with  young." 
Be  not  afraid  to  go  to  him ;  if  you  are  timid  and 
unable  to  say  much,  he  will  understand  your  broken 
hints,  kindly  elicit  your  sentiments  and  feelings, 
and  give  you  suitable  instruction  and  encourage- 
ment. One  half  hour's  conversation  with  a  skilful 
physician  of  souls,  will  do  more  to  assist  you  in 
this  first  stage  of  your  religious  history,  than  the 
reading  of  many  books,  and  the  hearing  of  many 
sermons. 

Remember,  however,  after  all  there  is  a  danger 
of  too  much  depending  upon  means,  as  well  as  of 
too  much  neglecting  them.  Forget  not  what  I 
have  said  concerning  the  work  of  the  Spirit  of  God. 
He  is  your  helper ;  neither  friends  nor  minister ; 
neither  reading  nor  hearing ;  no,  nor  the  bible  itself, 
must  lead  you  away  from  your  dependance  on  the 


3i'  IMPRESSIONS. 

Holy  Ghost.  Many  inquirers  seem  to  have  no 
hope  or  expectation  of  good  but  in  connexion  with 
means ;  if  they  are  cut  off  from  sermons  even  oc- 
casionally, or  have  not  precisely  the  same  number 
and  kind  of  ordinances  they  have  been  accustomed 
to,  they  are  gloomy  and  desponding,  fretful  and 
peevish,  and  hence  do  not  only  get  no  good,  but 
much  harm,  by  their  unbelief  and  bad  temper.  We 
must  depend  upon  God,  and  upon  nothing  but  God, 
who  could  bless  his  people  in  the  darkness  of  a 
dungeon,  where  the  bible  could  not  be  read,  or  in 
the  solitude  of  a  wilderness,  where  no  gospel  ser- 
mon could  be  heard. 

It  is  of  consequence  that  you  should  here  dis- 
tinctly understand,  that  the  grace  of  God  in  your 
salvation  is  rich  and  free.  Your  exertions  in  seek- 
ing salvation  do  not  merit  or  deserve  it ;  and  if  you 
receive  it,  you  will  not  have  it  granted  to  you  as 
the  reward  of  your  own  efforts  to  obtain  it.  To 
imagine  that  you  can  claim  the  grace  that  is  ne- 
cessary to  your  conversion,  because  you  profess  to 
seek  it,  is  lo  follow  the  wretched  example  of  those, 
who  in  ancient  times  "went  about  to  establish  the  r 
own  righteousness,  and  did  not  submit  themselves 
unto  the  righteousness  of  God."  Your  deep  con- 
victions, impressions,  and  solicitude  ;  your  many 
tears  ;  your  earnest  prayers  ;  your  diligent  attend 
ance  upon  sermons ;  and  your  partial  reformations, 
as  they  rise  from  no  higher  or  more  sacred  motive 
than  self-love,  and  are  not  originated  by  love  to 


IMPRESSIONS.  U 

Grod,  can  claim  nothing  in  the  way  of  reward  from 
Him;  nor  is  he  bound  to  save  you  for  that  which 
has  no  reference  to  his  glory  :  till  you  believe  God's 
promise,  he  is  under  no  obligation  even  to  himself, 
to  save  you.  Notwithstanding  all  your  concern, 
you  lie  at  his  mercy,  and  if  you  are  saved,  it  is  of 
pure  favour.  This  subject  will  be  again  referred 
to  hereafter.  Nor  should  you  allow  yourselves  to 
conclude,  that  your  present  concern  is  sure  to  end 
in  the  conversion  of  your  soul  to  God.  Nothing  is 
more  likely  to  deaden,  and  even  to  destroy  religious 
impressions,  than  to  infer,  that  you  are  sure  of  being 
converted,  because  you  are  anxious  about  it ;  facts 
are  against  such  an  inference.  "  I  have  read  of  a 
gentleman,  who  felt  in  a  dangerous  sickness  great 
horror  at  the  review  of  his  past  life,  and  Avas  advised 
to  send  for  the  minister  of  the  parish,  who  might 
be  able  to  set  his  mind  at  rest.  The  minister  came. 
The  gentleman  told  him  that  if  God  would  be 
pleased  to  preserve  him  from  death,  his  life  should 
be  the  reverse  of  what  it  had  been.  He  would 
regularly  attend  church ;  he  would  catechize  his 
servants  ;  he  would  regularly  worship  God  in  his 
family,  and  in  his  closet ;  he  would,  in  short,  do 
every  thing  a  good  Christian  should  do.  His  wishes 
were  accomplished ;  he  was  thankful  for  his  de- 
liverance, and  did  not  forget  his  promises.  For 
many  months  he  continued,  as  far  as  his  conduct 
could  be  judged  of  by  the  world,  to  perform  his 
vows.     At  last,  however,  he  thought  so  much  reli- 


M  I  M  I'  R  £  i:  3  I  Q  N  3 . 

gion  superfluous.  He  first  left  off  the  duties  of  the 
closet  and  family  ;  public  duties  at  last  became  like- 
wise too  wearisome,  and  he  became  again  the  same 
man  that  he  formerly  was.  After  some  time,  he 
was  again  seized  by  a  dangerous  distemper,  and  was 
advised  by  his  friends  to  send  again  for  the  min- 
ister, that  he  might  afford  fresh  consolation  to  his 
wounded  spirit.  No,  said  he,  after  breaking  all 
the  promises  that  I  made  to  God,  I  cannot  expect 
mercy  from  Him.  Death  found  him  in  this  un- 
happy state  of  mind,  and  carried  him  to  that  world 
where  there  are  no  changes."  This  story,  with 
some  variations  of  no  consequence,  may  be  told  of 
myriads.  Impressions  are  made  upon  the  minds 
of  sinners,  which  are  attended  with  visible  conse- 
quences, that  give  rise  to  favourable  hopes  in  the 
breasts  of  friends  and  ministers ;  but  their  hopes 
often  prove  illusions.  "  When  the  Lord  slew  the 
children  of  Israel,  then  they  sought  him,  and  they 
returned  and  inquired  early  after  God ;  and  they 
remembered  that  the  Lord  had  been  their  rock,  and 
the  High  God  their  redeemer ;  yet  they  lied  unto 
him  with  their  mouths,  and  flattered  him  with  their 
tongues.  Psalm  Ixxviii.  35.  TJiey  did  not  inten- 
tionally lie.  They  seem  frequently  to  have  been 
sincere  at  the  time  in  their  promises,  not  indeed 
with  a  godly  sincerity ;  "  yet  their  hearts  were 
not  right  with  God,  neither  were  they  steadfast 
in  his  covenant ;"  and  the  reason  why  they  were 
not  steadfast  in  the  covenant  was,  because,  though 


IMPRESSIONS.  27 

they  were  impressed,  their  hearts  were  not  right 
with  God. 

Perhaps  there  is  no  minister  of  the  gospel  who 
could  not  furnish  some  most  affecting  illustrations 
of  the  sentiment,  that  impressions  and  convictions 
do  not  always  end  in  conversion.  I  began  my  own 
religious  course  with  three  companions,  one  of 
whom  was  materially  serviceable  in  some  particu- 
lars to  myself;  but  he  soon  proved  that  his  religion 
was  nothing  more  than  mere  transient  devotion ; 
a  second  returned  to  his  sin  "  like  a  dog  to  his 
vomit,  and  a  sow  that  is  washed  to  her  walloAving 
in  the  mire."  The  third,  who  was  for  some  time 
my  intimate  friend,  imbibed  the  principles  of  infi- 
delity ;  and  so  great  was  his  zeal  for  his  new  creed, 
that  he  sat  up  at  night  to  copy  out  Pain.e's  Age  of 
Reason.  After  awhile  he  was  seized  with  a  dan- 
gerous disease;  his  conscience  awoke;  the  convic 
tions  of  his  mind  were  agonizing ;  his  remorse  was 
horrible.  He  ordered  all  his  infidel  extracts,  that 
had  cost  him  so  many  nights  to  copy  out,  to  be 
burnt  before  his  face  ;  and  if  not  in  words,  yet  in 
spirit, — 

"  Burn,  burn,  he  cried,  in  sacred  rage, 

Hell  is  the  due  of  ev'ry  page." 

His  infidel  companions  and  his  infidel  principles 
forsook  him  at  once,  and  before  a  pious  friend  who 
visited  him,  and  to  whom  he  confessed  with  tears 
and  lamentations  his  backsliding,  he  uttered  his 
confessions  of  sin,  and  his  vows  of  repentance.  He 
4 


18  IMPBESSIONS. 

recovered ;  but  painful  to  relate,  it  was  only  to  re- 
lapse again,  if  not  into  infidelity,  yet  at  any  rate 
into  an  utter  disregard  to  religion. 

These  are  awful  instances,  and  prove  by  facts, 
which  are  unanswerable  arguments,  that  it  is  but 
too  certain  that  many  seek  to  enter  in  at  the  straight 
gate,  but  do  not  accomplish  their  object.  And 
why  ?  Not  because  God  is  unwilling  to  save  them, 
but  because  they  rest  in  impressions  without  going 
on  to  actual  conversion.  It  is  dangerous  then, 
reader,  as  well  as  unwarranted,  to  conclude  that 
you  are  sure  to  be  saved,  because  you  now  feel 
anxious  to  be  saved.  It  is  very  true,  that  where 
God  has  begun  a  good  work  he  will  carry  it  on 
until  the  day  of  Christ  Jesus ;  but  do  not  conclude 
too  certainly,  that  he  has  begun  it.  You  may  take 
encouragement  from  your  present  state  of  mind  to 
hope  that  you  will  be  saved ;  but  even  now,  that 
encouragement  should  rather  come  from  what  God 
has  promised,  and  what  God  is,  than  from  what 
you  feel.  To  regard  your  present  state  of  mind, 
therefore,  with  complacency  ;  to  conceive  of  it  as 
preferring  any  claim  upon  God  to  convert  you ;  to 
look  upon  it  as  affording  a  certainty  that  you  will 
be  ultimately  converted,  a  kind  of  pledge  and  earn- 
est of  salvation,  instead  of  considering  it  only  as 
struggles  after  salvation  which  may  or  may  not  be 
successful,  according  as  they  are  continued  in  a 
right  manner,  is  the  way  lo  lose  the  impressions 
themselves,  and  to  turn  back  again  to  sin  or  the 


IMPRESSIONS.  3") 

world.  The  true  light  in  which  to  consider  your 
present  solicitude,  is  that  of  a  state  of  mind  which  if 
it  terminate  in  genuine  faith,  and  which  it  is  proba- 
ble it  may,  will  end  in  your  salvation ;  consequently 
the  object  of  your  ceaseless  care  should  be,  to  per- 
petuate your  anxiety,  and  seek  the  grace  of  Jeho- 
vah to  give  you  sincere  repentance  towards  God 
and  true  faith  in  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 


CHAPTER  III, 


ON  THB  IMPORTANCE  OF  GAINING  SCRIPTURAL  KNOW- 
LEDGE, AND  CLEAR  VIEWS  OF  DIVINE  TROTH. 

There  is  scarcely  any  one  point  to  which  the 
attention  of  anxious  inquirers  should  be  more  ear- 
nestly and  carefully  directed,  than  to  the  necessity 
of  an  accurate  understanding  of  the  scheme  of 
salvation,  and  the  doctrines  of  the  scripture.  You 
must  endeavour  to  have  clear  ideas,  correct  views, 
precise  and  intelligent  notions.  The  concern  of 
many  persons  is  nothing  more  than  an  ignorant 
anxiety  to  be  religious ;  they  have  scarcely  one 
definite  idea  of  what  religion  is.  Others  are  a  little 
better  informed  than  this,  but  still  have  no  notion 
of  piety,  but  as  either  a  state  of  excited  feeling,  or 
a  course  of  outward  observances.  Now  it  is  im- 
portant that  you  should  perceive  that  the  whole 
superstructure  of  personal  godliness  rests  on  know- 
ledge. True  conversion  is  emphatically  called, 
"  coming  to  the  knowledge  of  the  truth."  Your 
impressions  will  be  easily  effaced,  and  your  con- 
cern will  soon  subside,  if  you  do  not  give  yourself 
time,  and  use  the  means  to  become  acquainted  with 


KNOWLEDQE.  41 

the  truth.  There  is  much  to  be  learnt  and  known, 
as  well  as  to  be  felt  and  done,  and  you  cannot 
either  feel  or  act  aright,  unless  you  do  learn.  The 
reason  why  so  many  turn  back,  and  others  go  on  so 
slowly,  is  because  they  do  not  study  to  make  them- 
selves acquainted  with  divine  truth.  Suppose  a 
man  were  travelling  through  a  strange  country, 
could  he  get  on  without  consulting  his  map? 
Would  it  be  of  any  service  to  wish  he  could  travel 
faster  and  get  on  better,  if  he  never  looked  at  his 
book  of  roads  ?  How  can  you  get  on  in  the  way 
to  heaven,  without  studying  the  bible,  which  is  a 
map  of  the  road  1  Or,  changing  the  illustration, 
suppose  you  were  in  pecuniary  difficulties,  and 
some  friend  had  told  you  not  only  how  to  extricate 
yourself  from  your  perplexities,  but  also  how  to 
acquire  great  wealth,  and  in  order  to  guard  you 
from  error,  had  given  you  long  written  direc- 
tions. What  would  you  do?  Sit  down  and  wish 
and  long  for  success,  and  immediately  set  out  in  a 
great  bustle  to  realize  the  promised  advantages  ? 
No.  You  would  say,  "  my  success  depends  upon 
knowledge,  upon  my  making  myself  accurately 
acquainted  with  the  particulars  of  my  friend's 
written  directions.  I  will  read  them,  therefore, 
with  the  greatest  care  till  I  have  every  one  of  his 
ideas  in  my  mind,  for  it  is  quite  useless  to  exert 
myself,  if  I  do  not  know  how  my  exertions  are  to 
be  directed."  This  you  confess  is  quite  rational, 
and  is  it  not  quite  as  necessary  for  you  to  be  ac- 
4* 


43  KNOWLEDGE. 

quainted  with  the  subject  of  religion,  in  order 
to  be  truly  pious?  Knowledge,  knowledge,  my 
friends,  is  indispensable.  Religion  is  repentance 
tOAvards  God ;  but  can  you  repent  if  you  do  not 
know  ihe  character  of  the  God  whom  you- have 
offeQded,  the  law  you  have  broken,  and  the  sin 
you  have  commilted'?  Religion  is  faith  in  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ ;  but  can  you  really  believe,  if 
you  do  not  know  whom  and  what  you  are  to  be- 
li;Bve?  Religion  is  the  love  of  God,  but  can  you 
love  a  Being  whom  you  do  not  know  ?  You  must 
give  yourself  therefore  lime  and  opportunity  for 
reflection  J  you  must  bring  your  understanding  to 
the  business,  you  must  study  religion  as  a  science 
to  be  known,  as  well  as  a  passion  tp  be  felt,  or  a 
rule  to  be  observed.  It  is  of  great  consequence 
that  at  this  stage  of  your  progress,  you  should 
clearly  understand,  that  it  is  an  obvious  law  of  the 
human  mind,  that  neither  faith  nor  feeling  of  any 
kind,  can  be  produced  by  any  other  means  than 
that  of  knowledge.  Suppose  you  want  to  believe 
a  person,  or  love  him,  or  rejoice  in  him,  could  you 
work  up  your  mind  to  this  faith  in  ^  direct  way  1 
No,  you  must  know  some  grounds  on  which  you 
can  credit  him,  and  some  excellences  which  render 
him  worthy  of  your  affection,  and  some  facts  which 
are  a  just  cause  of  joy.  No  passion  or  affection 
can  be  called  into  exercise  but  by  the  knowledge 
of  something  that  is  calculated  to  excite  that  affec- 
tion.   You  may  tiy  as  long  as  you  please  to  work 


KNOWLEDGE.  43 

upon  the  miad  directly,  but  the  thing  is  manifestly 
impossible.  Hence  then  the  importance  of  grow- 
ing in  knowledge  of  divine  things.  The  way  to 
have  your  faith  increased,  is  to  increase  in  the 
knowledge  of  what  is  to  be  believed;  and  if  you 
would  be  rooted  and  grounded  in  love,  you  must 
first  be  rooted  and  grounded  in  the  knowledge  of 
what  you  are  to  love.  The  order  of  nature  is  first 
to  knov},  then  to  feel,  then  to  act ;  and  grace  fol- 
lows the  order  of  nature.  I  deduce,  therefore,  this 
inference,  tJiat  in  the  whole  business  of  religion 
the  eye  of  the  inquirer  must  be  much  fxced  on  ob- 
jects out  of  himself  on  those  that  are  presented  in 
the  word  of  God.  If  you  ask  what  are  the  subjects 
which  you  should  endeavour  to  understand,  I  place 
before  you  the  following. 

1.  The  moral  character  of  God. — The  know- 
ledge of  God  is  the  basis  of  all  religion.  God  is  a 
spirit,  as  to  his  nature ;  almighty,  all-knowing,  and 
every  were  present,  searching  the  hearts  and  trying 
the  reins  of  the  children  of  men.  As  to  his  moral 
attributes,  it  is  said,  "  God  is  love,"  and  "  God  is 
light ;"  by  which  we  are  to  understand,  that  he  is 
both  benevolent  and  holy.  Yes,  so  holy,  that  the 
very  heavens  are  unclean  before  him.  He  is  also 
so  perfectly  righteous,  so  inflexibly  just,  as  to  be 
compelled  by  the  infinite  perfection  of  his  nature 
to  reveal  his  wrath  against  all  ungodliness  and  un- 
righteousness of  men  ;  and  at  the  same  time  a  God 
that  cannot  lie,  but  who  wtU  fulfil  every  word  of 


44  KNOWLEDGE. 

promise  or  threatening.  O  ray  reader,  dwell  upon 
this  view  of  the  divine  character,  an  infinite  hatred 
and  opposition  to  sin.  An  infinite  purity,  an  im- 
mutable justice,  an  inviolable  truth.  Pause  and 
ponder :  but  canst  thou  lift  up  thine  eyes  and  bear 
the  sight  ?  Why  the  cherubim  veil  their  faces 
with  their  wings,  as  they  stand  before  the  great 
white  throne,  and  say  one  to  another,  "  Holy, 
Holy,  Holy,  Lord  God  of  Hosts,"  while  the  pro- 
phet filled  with  terror,  falls  prostrate,  exclaiming, 
"  Wo  is  me,  for  I  am  undone,  because  I  am  a  man 
of  unclean  lips."  Isaiah  vi.  O  the  deep  depravity, 
the  utter  sinfulness  of  man  before  this  holy  God  ! 

2.  You  must  understand  the  law,  I  mean  the  law 
of  the  ten  commandments ;  the  moral  law.  You 
must  know  the  spirituality  of  the  law,  by  which 
we  mean  that  it  demands  the  obedience  of  the  mind 
and  heart ;  it  is  made  for  the  soul's  innermost  re- 
cesses, as  well  as  for  the  actions  of  the  life.  God 
sees  and  searches  the  mind,  and  therefore  demands 
the  perfect  obedience  of  the  heart,  and  forbids  its 
evil  dispositions.  By  the  law  of  God  as  interpret- 
ed by  Christ,  even  sinful  anger  is  murder,  and  un- 
chaste feelings  are  adultefy.  The  law  demands 
from  every  human  being  sinless  perfect  obedience 
from  the  beginning  to  the  end  of  life,  in  thought, 
word,  and  deed ;  it  abates  nothing  of  its  demands, 
and  makes  no  allowances  for  human  weakness. 
Matthew  V.  17—48.  James  ii.  10,  11.  The  per- 
fection of  the  law  is  a  tremendous  subject,  it  is  an 


KNOWLEDGE.  iS 

awful  mirror  for  a  sinful  creature  to  look  into. 
You  must  also  understand  the  design  of  the  law; 
it  is  not  given  to  save  us,  but  to  govern  us  and  con- 
demn us  ;  to  show  us  what  sin  is,  and  to  condemn 
us  for  committing  it.  Rom.  iii.  20.  Gal.  iii.  19. 
You  can  know  nothing,  if  you  do  not  know  the 
law.  "Sin  is  the  transgression  of  the  law;"  but 
how  can  you  know  sin,  if  you  io  not  know  the  law? 
O  inquire  how  many,  how  great  are  thy  transgres- 
sions, if  every  departure  from  this  law,  in  feeling 
as  Avell  as  in  action,  is  a  sin.  Nor  is  this  all ;  for 
to  fall  short  of  the  law  is  sin,  no  less  then  to  oppose 
it.  Read  Avhat  our  Lord  has  said,  Matthew  xxii. 
37.  "  Thou  shall  love  the  Lord  thy  God  with  all 
thy  heart,  and  with  all  thy  soul,  and  with  all  thy 
mind,  and  thou  shalt  love  thy  neighbour  as  thyself." 
Alarming  representation  !  Hast  thou  thus  loved 
God,  and  thy  neighbour  ?  Confounding  and  over- 
whelmmg  question !  What  a  state  of  sin  have 
you  been  living  in  !  Your  whole  life  has  been  sin, 
for  you  have  not  loved  God,  and  not  to  love  God, 
is  all  sins  in  one.  Who  can  think  of  greater  sin 
than  not  loving  God  ?  To  love  the  world,  to  love 
trifles,  to  love  even  sin,  and  not  love  God ! 

3.  But  this  leads  me  to  remark  that  it  is  neces- 
sary you  should  understand  the  evil  of  sin.  Men 
think  little  of  sin  :  but  does  God  ?  What  turned 
Adam  and  Eve  out  of  Paradise?  Sin.  What 
drowned  the  old  world  in  the  flood  ?  Sin.  What 
destroyed  God's  own  city,  and  scattered  his  chosen 


46  KNOWLEDGE. 

people,  as  vagrants  over  the  face  of  the  earth  ? 
Sin.  What  brought  disease,  accidents,  toil,  care, 
war,  pestilence,  and  famine,  into  the  world?  Sin. 
What  has  converted  the  world  into  one  great  bury- 
ing-place  of  its  inhabitants  ?  Sin.  What  lighted 
the  flames  of  hell  ?  Sin.  What  crucified  the  Lord 
of  life  and  glory  ?  Sin.  What  then  must  sin  be? 
Who  but  God,  and  what  but  his  infinite  mind,  can 
conceive  of  its  evil  nature  ?  Did  you  ever  think  of 
this  ?  It  was  only  one  sin  that  brought  death  and 
all  our  woes  into  the  world.  Do  you  not  tremble 
at  the  thought  that  this  evil  is  in  yotc?  Some  will 
attempt  to  persuade  you,  that  sin  is  a  trifle ;  that 
God  3oes  not  take  much  account  of  it ;  that  you 
need  not  give  yourself  much  concern  about  it.  But 
what  says  God  himself,  in  his  word,  in  his  provi- 
dence, in  the  torments  of  the  damned,  i©  the  cru- 
cifixion of  his  Son  ?  You  have  not  only  sin  enough, 
in  yourself  to  deserve  the  bottomless  pit,  and  to 
sink  you  to  it,  unless  it  be  pardoned ;  but  sin  enough, 
if  it  could  be  divided  and  distributed  to  others,  to 
doom  multitudes  to  perdition. 

4.  But  it  is  not  enough  to  know  your  actual  sins, 
you  must  also  clearly  understand  your  original 
and  inherent  depravity  of  heart.  There  is  the 
sin  of  your  nature,  as  well  as  the  sin  of  your  con- 
duct. Our  Lord  has  told  us,  "  that  those  things 
which  proceed  out  ef  the  mouth,  come  forth  from 
the  heart ;  for  out  of  the  heart  proceed  evil  thoughts, 
miu-ders,  adulteries,  fornications,  thefts,  false-wit- 


KNOWLEDGE.  47 

ness,  blasphemies."  Matthew  xv.  18,  19.  The 
heart  is  the  polluted  fountain  from  whence  all  the 
muddy  streams  of  evil  conduct  flow.  The  heart 
is  the  great  storehouse  of  iniquity.  Men  some- 
times make  excuse  for  their  evil  deeds,  by  saying, 
that  they  have  good  hearts  at  bottom:  this,  how- 
ever, is  an  awful  mistake,  for  every  man's  heart, 
not  excepting  the  most  wicked,  is  really  worse  than 
his  conduct.  Why  do  not  men  seek,  serve,  and 
love  God?  Because  the  carnal  mind  is  enmity 
against  him.  Why  do  sinners  go  on  in  sin  ?  Be- 
cause they  love  it  in  their  hearts.  This  was  not 
the  original  condition  of  man,  for  God  created 
Adam  in  his  own  image,  i.  e.  in  rigiiteousness  and 
true  holiness;  but  by  disobeying  God  in  eating  the 
forbidden  fruit,  our  first  parent  fell  into  a  state  of 
sin,  and  we  having  descended  from  him,  since  the 
fall,  inherit  his  corruption.  Rom.  v.  12 — 21.  It  is 
of  vast  consequence  for  you  to  know  that  you  are 
thus  totally  corrupt  in  your  very  nature,  and  through 
all  your  faculties,  for  without  this  knowledge  you 
will  be  taken  up  with  a  mere  outward  reformation, 
to  rhe  neglect  of  an  entire  inward  renovation.  If 
you  saw  a  man  who  had  a  bad  and  loathsome  dis- 
ease of  the  skin,  merely  applying  outward  lotions 
and  fomentations,  you  would  remind  him,  that  the 
seat  of  the  disorder  was  in  the  blood,  and  admon- 
ish him  to  purify  that  by  medicine.  You  must 
first  make  the  tree  good,  said  our  Lord,  for  good 
fruit  cannot  be  borne  by  a  bad  tree.     So  your  heart 


0  KNOWLEDG  E. 

must  be  renewed,  or  you  can  never  perform  good 
works.  You  not  only  need  the  pardon  of  actual 
sin,  but  you  need  also  the  removal  of  original  sin. 
You  must  have  a  new  heart,  a  right  spirit,  or  you 
cannot  be  saved.  Read  Psalm  li.  Psalm  liii.  John 
iii.  1—8.    Gal.  v.  19—25.    Ephes.  iv.  17—24. 

5.  You  must  endeavour  at  once  to  gain  clear  and 
distin(;t  notions  of  the  precise  design  of  ChrisVs 
mediatorial  office  and  work.  All  will  be  confu- 
sion in  your  ideas,  and  unrelieved  distress  in  your 
souls,  if  you  do  not  understand  this  subject.  It  is 
not  enough  to  know  in  a  general  way  that  Christ 
died  to  save  sinners :  did  it  ever  occur  to  you  to 
ask  the  question,  "  Why  did  God  save  sinners  in 
this  way?"  Why  was  it  necessary  for  his  Son  to 
become  incarnate,  suffer  and  die  upon  the  cross 
for  their  salvation  ?  Why  was  it  not  enough  that 
they  should  repent  and  reform,  in  order  to  their 
being  pardoned  ?  What  precise  end  was  to  be  ac- 
complished by  the  death  of  Christ  ?  I  will  show 
you  this  design.  First,  as  it  relates  to  God.  Is 
not  God  holy,  and  does  he  not  abhor  sin?  Yes, 
with  a  perfect  hatred.  Is  he  not  a  righteous  gover- 
nor of  the  universe,  and  has  he  not  given  a  law, 
to  which  he  demands  perfect  obedience  ;  and  has 
he  not  threatened  death  upon  all  who  break  this 
law?  Certainly.  Have  not  all  men  broken  this 
law  and  incurred  its  penalty  ?  Yes.  Suppose  then 
that  upon  the  sinner's  repentance,  even  admitting 
that  he  were  disposed  to  repent  and  reform,  God 


KNOWLEDGE.  49 

were  to  receive  him  back  to  his  favour ;  and  sup- 
pose he  was  to  do  this  in  every  case,  where  would 
be  his  truth  in  threatening  to  follow  sin  with  pun- 
ishment ;  and  how  would  his  holiness  or  hatred  of 
sin  appear,  or  his  justice  in  punishing  sin  ?  Would 
it  not  seem  a  light  thing  to  sin  against  God  ;  would 
not  the  law  be  destroyed,  and  God's  moral  govern- 
ment be  set  aside  ?  Could  any  government,  human 
or  divine,  exist  with  an  indiscriminate  dispensation 
of  pardon  to  all  offenders  upon  their  repentance  1 
But  you  say,  perhaps,  what  is  to  be  done  ?  Is  not 
repentance  all  that  the  sinner  has  to  offer?  I  reply, 
is  repentance  all  that  God  is  bound  to  require  1  Be- 
sides, it  is  not  all  that  the  sinner  has  to  give,  for  he 
can  also  suffer  the  penalty.  Convinced  and  anx- 
ious sinner,  I  put  it  to  your  own  conscience  and 
feelings,  do  you  not  begin  to  see  the  holiness  of 
God  and  the  evil  of  sin  ;  and  do  you  think  you 
could  ever  be  at  rest,  if  you  had  nothing  but  repent- 
ance to  offer?  No,  you  have  tried  it.  You  have 
left  off  many  sins,  and  begun  many  neglected  du- 
ties ;  you  have  read,  and  prayed,  and  wept,  and 
watched,  but  are  you  at  peace  ?  No,  say  you  ;  as 
far  from  it  as  ever.  Why  ?  Because  you  know 
that  God  is  true,  and  holy,  and  just,  and  yet  you 
cannot  see  how  he  can  be  holy,  and  true,  and  just, 
if  your  sins  are  forgiven  upon  your  mere  repentance 
and  reformation.  True,  and  your  conscience  will 
ever  be  as  the  sword  of  the  cherubim  frightening 
and  driving  you  back  from  God  as  long  as  you  have 
5 


10  KNOWLEDGE. 

nothing  but  tears,  and  prayers,  and  doings  of  your 
own  to  bring.  Yes,  there  is  a  testimony  to  God's 
holiness  and  justice  in  your  conscience.  But  now, 
"  Behohl  the  Lamb  of  God,  which  taketh  away  the 
sins  of  the  world."  Him  hath  God  set  forth  to  be 
a  propitiation  through  faith  in  his  blood,  to  declare 
his  righteousness  in  the  remission  of  sins  that  are 
past,  through  the  forbearance  of  God :  to  declare, 
I  say,  at  this  time,  his  righteousness,  that  he 
MIGHT  BE  JUST,  and  the  justifier  of  him  that  believ- 
eth  in  Jesus. — Rom.  iii.  25.  Read  also  other  lan- 
guage of  the  same  apostle. — "  He  hath  made  him 
[Christ]  to  be  sin  [a  sin-offering]  for  us  who  knew 
no  sin,  that  we  might  be  made  the  righteousness  of 
God  in  him." — 2  Cor.  v.  21.  The  prophet  Isaiah 
tells  us,  "  The  Lord  laid  upon  him  the  iniquity  of 
us  all." — Isaiah  liii.  And  the  apostle  Peter  says, 
*'  He  died,  the  just  for  [in  place  of]  the  unjust,  to 
bring  us  to  God." — 1  Peter  iii.  16. 

So  far  as  God  is  concerned  then,  this  is  the  pre- 
cise design  of  Christ's  death,  not  to  render  him 
merciful,  for  the  gift  of  Christ  is  the  fruit  of  divine 
love,  but  that  he  might  appear  what  he  is,  a  holy 
God  in  hating  sin,  a  righteous  God  in  punishing  it, 
and  a  merciful  God  at  the  same  time  in  forgiving  it. 
The  death  of  Christ  is  intended  to  be  a  display  of 
holy  love,  i.  e.  the  union  of  abhorrence  to  the  sin, 
and  compassion  to  the  sinner ;  the  union  of  a  just 
regard  to  his  own  character,  law,  and  government, 
and  a  merciful  regard  to  the  sinful  and  miserable 


KNOWLEDGE.  51 

children  of  men.  Take  an  illustration  :  Zaleucus, 
king  of  the  Locrians,  had  promulgated  a  law  to  his 
subjects,  threatening  any  one  who  should  be  guilty 
of  the  crime  of  adultery,  with  the  loss  of  his  eyes. 
His  own  son  was  the  first  convicted  under  the  law- 
The  kingly  and  parental  character  seemed  to  strug- 
gle for  predominance ;  if  the  prince  be  pardoned, 
what  becomes  of  the  law ;  if  he  be  punished,  how 
great  a  calamity  will  the  father  endure  in  the  af- 
fliction of  the  son  ?  What  is  to  be  done  1  The 
father  determines  that  he  will  lose  one  of  his  eyes, 
and  the  son  one  of  his.  It  was  done.  Here  was 
punishment  and  pardon  united.  Atonement  was 
mad«  to  the  offended  law,  as  effectually  as  if  the 
son  had  been  reduced  to  total  blindness.  The  letter 
of  the  law  was  not  complied  with,  but  the  spirit  of 
it  was  exceeded.  The  case  of  course  is  not  addu- 
ced as  a  perfect  parallel  to  the  atonement  of  Christ, 
but  simply  as  an  illustration  of  its  principles,  as 
tending  to  show  that  atonement  may  be  as  effectu- 
ally made  by  substitution,  as  by  the  suffering  of  the 
real  offender.  Anxious  sinner,  dwell  upon  the 
atonement  of  Christ ;  there  is  thy  hope,  thy  joy, 
thy  life.  Behold  the  Lamb  of  God  bearing  the 
sins  of  the  world,  and  thine  among  the  rest.  Think 
of  the  dignity  of  the  sufferer,  the  extremity  of  his 
sufferings,  and  the  consequences  of  his  mediation. 
Could  the  law  ever  be  more  honoured  than  by  the 
obedience  of  such  a  person  ?  Could  justice  be  more 
displayed  even  by  the  everlasting  punishment  of  all 


62  KNOWLEDGE. 

the  human  race?  Tremble  not  to  approach  to 
God  through  Christ.  He  has  made  provision  for 
the  manifestation  of  his  own  glory,  as  well  as  for 
the  salvation  of  thy  soul.  God  is  upon  a  throne  of 
grace :  the  blood  of  atonement  has  been  shed  and 
sprinkled ;  the  hand  of  mercy  holds  forth  the  bless- 
ing of  salvation  :  fix  thine  eye  upon  Jesus  the  Me- 
diator; rest  all  thy  hope  upon  his  sacrifice  ;  plead 
his  atonement,  and  then  life  eternal  is  thine. 

2.  But  you  must  also  be  instructed  in  the  design 
of  Christ's  death,  in  reference  to  yoiirself.  This 
is  immensely  important,  it  is  too  often  but  partially 
understood  by  the  enquirer,  amid  the  throbbing  so- 
licitude of  his  spirit,  and  the  first  alarms  of  con- 
scious guilt.  With  the  avenger  of  blood  pursuing 
him,  he  is  apt  to  think  of  little  else  than  safety 
from  vengeance.  But  there  is  another  enemy  he 
has  to  fear  besides  hell,  and  that  is, — sin  ;  and 
could  he  be  delivered  from  hell,  without  being  de- 
livered from  sin,  he  would  find  no  heaven.  When 
man  was  created,  he  was  created  holy,  and  conse- 
quently happy.  He  was  not  only  placed  in  a  para- 
dise that  was  without  sin,  but  he  was  blessed  with 
a  paradise  within  him.  His  perfect  holiness  was 
as  much  the  Eden  of  his  soul,  as  the  garden  which 
he  tilled  was  the  Eden  of  his  bodily  senses :  it  was 
in  the  inward  paradise  of  a  holy  mind  that  he 
walked  in  communion  with  God.  The  fall  cast 
him  out  of  this  heaven  upon  earth ;  his  understand- 
ing became  darkened,  his  heart  corrupted,  his  will 


KNOWLEDGE.  63 

perverted,  and  his  disposition  earthly,  sensual,  and 
devilish.  Not  only  was  his  conscience  laden  with 
guilt,  but  as  a  necessary  consequence,  his  imagin- 
ation was  full  of  terror  and  dread  of  that  Holy 
God,  whose  voice  and  presence  formerly  imparted 
nothing  but  soft  transport  to  his  soul.  He  was 
afraid  of  God,  and  unfit  for  him.  His  whole  soul 
became  the  seat  of  fleshly  appetites  and  irregular 
passions.  In  his  innocence  he  loved  God  supremely, 
and  his  cjompanion  as  himself  He  was  united  by 
a  feeling  of  dependence  and  devotedness  to  God, 
and  to  the  creature,  by  a  principle  of  hallowed  sym- 
pathy. But  now,  he  was  cut  off  from  both,  and 
came  under  the  domination  of  an  absorbing  and 
engrossing  selfishness.  Such  is  the  character  he 
has  transmitted  by  the  channel  of  ordinary  genera- 
tion to  all  his  posterity ;  they  are  not  only  guilty  but 
depraved ;  not  only  under  the  wrath  of  God,  but 
despoiled  of  his  image ;  not  only  condemned  by 
God,  but  alienated  from  him.  Hence  then  the  de- 
sign of  the  death  of  Christ  is  not  only  to  deliver 
us  from  the  penal,  but  also  from  the  polluting  con- 
sequences of  sin.  True  it  is,  that  hell  will  be 
some  place  set  apart  for  the  wicked,  where  the 
justice  of  God  will  consign  them  to  the  misery 
which  their  sins  have  deserved :  but  what  is  that 
misery  ?  an  eternal  abandonment  of  them  to  them- 
selves, with  all  their  crimes  in  full  maturity  ;  so 
that  hell  is  not  only  the  wrath  of  God  suffered,  but 
that  wrath  coupled  with,  as  its  effects,  an  eternal 
5* 


94  KNOWLEDGE. 

endurance  of  all  the  tyranny  of  sin.  Now  the 
death  of  Christ  is  intended  as  a  deliverance  from 
the  power  of  sin.  "  His  nane  is  Jesus,  for  he  shall 
save  his  people  from  their  sins,"  not  in  them. 
"  He  died  to  redeem  us  from  all  iniquity,  and  purify 
himself  a  peculiar  people  zealous  of  good  Avorlcs. 
"  Christ  loved  the  church  and  gave  himself  for  it, 
that  he  might  sanctify  and  cleanse  it,  with  the 
washing  of  water  by  the  word,  that  he  might  pre^ 
sent  it  to  himself,  a  glorious  church,  not  having 
spot,  or  wrinkle,  or  blemish,  or  any  such  thing,  but 
that  it  should  be  holy  and  Avithout  blemish." — 
Ephes.  V.  25 — 27.  And  hence  it  is  said  to  be  the 
profession  of  believers  in  their  baptism  to  be  under 
obligation  to  a  conformity  to  the  ends  and  designs 
of  Christ's  death. — Rom.  vi.  1 — 7.  Do  then,  my 
dear  friends,  take  up  at  once  right  views  of  the  de- 
sign of  the  work  of  Christ.  You  are  to  look  to  him 
for  SALVATION  :  but  what  is  salvation  1  not  only 
pardon ;  not  only  absolution  from  punishment ;  not 
merely  deliverance  from  the  bottomless  pit.  These 
blessings  are,  I  admit,  a  part  of  it,  but  they  are  only 
a  part:  salvation  means  the  crucifixion  of  your 
flesh  with  its  affections  and  lusts  ;  the  mortification 
of  your  corrupt  nature :  the  salvation  which  the 
gospel  offers,  is  not  only  a  future  deliverance  from 
hell,  but  a  present  deliverance  from  sin  ;  not  only 
a  rescue  from  punishment,  but  a  restoration  to 
favour ;  and  not  only  a  restoration  to  the  fa- 
vour of  God,  but  also  to  his  image.    Christ  died 


KNOWLEDGE.  66 

to  raise  you  to  the  state  of  Adam  before  his  fall, 
i.  e.  to  a  holy  state.  The  end  of  all  God's  deal 
ings  in  a  way  of  mercy  to  the  sinner,  is  to  restore 
to  him  the  dominion  of  holy  principles  in  his 
nature :  the  whole  manifestation  of  holy  love  in  the 
gospel,  is  to  change  the  stubborn,  selfish,  worldly, 
wicked  heart  of  the  fallen  creature,  into  its  own  like- 
ness, and  thus  by  making  him  a  partaker  of  the 
divine  nature,  to  fit  him  for  divine  communion. 

Now  let  every  anxious  inquirer,  consider  this ; 
let  him  ask  what  it  is  he  wants  as  a  fallen,  sinful 
creature  ;  is  it  not  the  deliverance  of  his  soul  from 
the  power  as  well  as  the  punishment  of  sin?  Is 
he  not  painfully  conscious  to  himself  not  only  of 
wrath  coming  down  upon  him  from  God,  for  his 
eins,  but  of  a  spring  of  misery  in  himself  in  the 
existence  of  those  very  sins  ?  And  is  it  not  for 
this  he  should  look  to  Christ  ?  Could  he  be  saved 
at  all,  if  not  saved  from  his  body  of  flesh,  his  cor- 
rupt nature  1  And  can  any  one  save  him  from  this 
but  Christ?  Poor  troubled  tormented  sinner,  look 
to  Christ ;  in  him  is  all  you  want :  "  the  Son  of 
God  will  be  made  unto  you  wisdom,  and  right- 
eousness, and  sanctification,  and  redemption." 
1  Cor.  i.  30. 

7.  Connected  with  this  is  the  momentous  sub- 
ject of  the  Justification  of  a  sinner  in  the  sight 
of  God.  You  must  soon  be  at  the  bar  of  God  for 
judgment,  and  if  you  are  not  now  justified,  you 
must  be  then  condemned.    Yea,  if  you  are  not  yet 


M  KNOWLGDOe. 

justified,  which  it  is  to  be  presumed  you  are  not, 
you  are  now  in  a  state  of  condemnation :  "  for  he 
that  believeth  not  is  condemned  already ;  the  wrath 
of  God  abideth  on  him."  Every  one  who  has  not 
yet  received  Christ,  is  under  the  curse  of  the  law ; 
he  is  a  dead  man  in  law,  a  sinner  doomed  to  die ; 
condemned  by  God,  condemned  to  death  eternal. 
Well  may  you  tremble  at  your  situation,  and  like 
the  man  who  after  condemnation  at  the  bar  of  his 
country's  justice,  has  been  removed  to  await  in  his 
cell  the  execution  of  the  sentence,  ask  the  question, 
"  How  shall  I  escape."  At  this  stage  of  your  ex- 
perience then  it  is  infinitely  desirable  you  should 
be  clearly  instructed  in  the  nature  of  justification. 
It  is  a  subject  of  immense  consequence  to  the  sin- 
ner, and  is  therefore  frequently  mentioned,  and 
treated  at  great  length,  in  the  epistle  to  the  Romans 
and  Galatians.  Attend  to  the  meaning  of  the  word. 
Jiistijication  is  the  opposite  of  condemnation^  as 
is  evident  from  the  following  passages :  "  He  that 
justifieth  the  wicked,  and  he  that  condemneth  the 
just,  even  they  both  are  abomination  to  the  Lord." 
— Prov.  xviii.  15.  "  Who  shall  lay  any  thing  to 
the  charge  of  God's  elect,  it  is  God  that  justijietk, 
who  is  he  that  condemneth." — Rom.  viii.  33.  Fix 
this  simple  idea  in  your  mind,  that  justification  is 
the  opposite  of  condemnation,  for  things  are  some- 
times easily  and  impressively  learnt  by  their  con- 
traries. The  justification  of  an  innocent  person  is 
pronouncing  him  just,  on  the  ground  of  his  own 


KNOWLEDGE.  67 

conduct ;  but  how  can  a  sinner  who  is  confessedly 
guilty  of  innumerable  transgressions  be  justified? 
Now  you  will  see  at  once  that  the  term,  in  refer- 
ence to  him.,  is  a  little  different,  and  signifies  not 
that  he  is  righteous  in  himself,  but  is  treated  as  if 
he  had  been,  through  the  righteousness  of  Christ 
imputed  to  him.  "Justification,"  says  the  Assem- 
bly's Catechism,  "is  an  act  of  God's  free  grace 
unto  sinners,  in  which  he  pardoneth  all  their  sins, 
accepteth  and  accounteth  their  persons  righteous 
in  his  sight,  not  for  any  thing  wrought  in  them,  or 
done  by  them,  but  only  for  the  perfect  obedience 
and  full  satisfaction  of  Christ,  by  God,  imputed  to 
them,  and  received  by  faith  alone."  In  justifica- 
tion, God  acts  as  a  Judge,  in  absolving  the  sinner 
from  punishment,  and  restoring  him  to  all  the  privi- 
leges of  a  citizen  of  the  heavenly  community. 

Justification  means  not  merely  pardon,  but  some- 
thing more.  Pardon  would  only  restore  the  sinner 
to  the  state  of  Adam  before  he  fell,  but  when  he  was 
not  yet  entitled  to  the  reward  of  obedience,  and 
which  indeed  he  never  obtained.  Justification  is 
pardon  connected  with  a  title  to  eternal  life.  Justi- 
fication takes  place  but  once ;  pardon  may  be  fre- 
quently repeated ;  justification  is  that  great  change 
which  is  made  in  the  sinner's  relation  to  God,  when 
he  is  delivered  from  condemnation,  and  is  brought 
from  being  an  enemy,  to  be  a  child.  If  a  king 
were  to  save  a  condemned  criminal,  and  immedi- 
ately adopt  him  as  a  child,  this  would  resemble 


D3  KNOWLEDGE. 

our  justification,  and  his  frequent  forgiveness  of  his 
other  oflfences,  when  standing  in  the  relation  of  a 
son,  would  resemble  God's  fatherly  love  in  forgiv- 
ing the  sins  of  his  children.  Justification  then  is 
God's  act  in  taking  ofl"  the  sentence  of  a  sinner's 
condemnation  by  the  law,  restoring  him  to  his 
favour,  and  granting  him  a  title  to  eternal  life  in 
heaven.  But  how  can  a  righteous  God  who  has 
respect  for  his  holy  laAV,  thus  justify  a  sinner?  I 
answer,  on  the  ground  of  Christ's  righteousness. 
Thus  the  law  is  honoured,  because  justification 
proceeds  on  the  ground  of  a  righteousness,  which 
met  and  satisfied  its  demands.  This  is  what  is 
meant  by  the  imputed  righteousness  of  Christ,  that 
the  sinner  is  accepted  to  the  divine  favour  out  of 
regard  to  what  Christ  did  and  sufiered  on  his  be- 
half. This  judicial  act  of  God  in  justifying  the 
sinner  takes  place  when,  and  as  soon  as,  he  believes 
in  Christ,  because  by  that  act  of  faith  he  is  brought 
into  union  with  the  Saviour,  and  becomes  legally 
one  with  him,  so  as  to  receive  the  benefit  of  his 
mediatorial  undertaking. 

In  connexion  with  this,  it  may  be  well  to  show 
the  nature  of  sanctification,  and  how  these  twc 
blessings  are  related  to  each  other.  Sanctification 
signifies  our  being  set  apart  from  the  love  and 
service  of  sin  and  the  world,  to  the  love  and 
service  of  God  ;  it  is  our  being  made  holy ;  and  a 
saint,  or  sanctified  one,  means  a  holy  one.  Justi- 
fication is   the  result    of  Christ's  work /or  \xu; 


KNOWLEDGE.  69 

sanctification  is  the  Holy  Spirit's  work  in  us.  Con- 
ceive of  a  criminal  in  jail  under  sentence  of  death, 
and  at  the  same  time  infected  with  a  dangerous 
disease ;  in  order  to  his  being  saved  he  must  be 
both  pardoned  and  cured,  for  if  he  be  only  pardon- 
ed, he  will  soon  die  of  his  disease  ;  or  if  he  be  only 
cured,  he  will  soon  be  executed.  Such  is  the 
emblem  of  the  sinner's  case  ;  by  actual  sin  he  is 
condemned  to  die,  by  inherent  depravi'y  he  is  in- 
fected with  a  spiritual  disease  :  in  justification  he 
is  pardoned  ;  in  sanctification  he  is  cured ;  and  the 
two  blessings,  although  distinct,  are  always  united, 
and  are  both  necessary  to  salvation.  Thus  you  see 
justification  changes  our  relation  to  God,  but  sanc- 
tification changes  our  spiritual  condition :  and  re- 
generation, or  the  new  birth,  means  our  first  en- 
trance upon  a  sanctified  state. 

Diligently  attend  to  these  things.  Reader,  fix 
your  mind  upon  them,  labour  to  understand  them , 
a  knowledge  of  these  two  blessings,  justification 
and  sanctification,  is  a  key  to  the  whole  bible.  O 
blessed,  infinitely  blessed  state,  to  be  delivered  from 
the  condemnation  of  our  sins,  and  from  their  domi- 
neering and  defiling  power,  this  is  a  present  sal- 
vation. 

8.  You  should  also  be  well  instructed  in  the  na- 
ture and  necessity  of  the  work  of  the  Holy  Spirit 
in  renewing  and  sanctifying  the  sinner's  heart.  It 
is  an  important  lesson,  and  one  that  should  be 
learnt   at   the   very  beginning  of  your   religious 


to  &.ltOWLKD6B. 

course,  that  the  work  of  the  Holy  Spirit  in  the 
sinner  is  as  necessary  lo  his  salvation,  as  the  work 
of  Christ /or  him.  As  we  are  all  corrupt  by  nature, 
in  consequence  of  our  descent  from  Adam,  since 
his  fall,  we  grow  up  and  remain  without  any  true 
religion,  till  it  is  implanted  in  the  heart  by  divine 
grace :  true  holiness  is  something  foreign  from  our 
corrupt  nature,  and  the  whole  business  of  religion 
fronr  first  to  last  is  carried  on  in  the  heart  by  the 
Spirit  of  God.  There  is  not,  as  I  before  remarked 
and  now  repeat,  a  truly  pious  thought,  feeling,  pur- 
pose, word,  or  action,  but  what  is  the  result  of 
divine  influence  upon  the  human  mind.  Our  re- 
generation or  new  birth,  is  ascribed  to  the  Spirit ; 
hence  it  is  said,  "  Except  a  man  be  born  of  water 
and  of  the  spirit,  he  cannot  enter  into  the  kingdom 
of  God." — John  iii.  5.  Our  right  knowledge  of 
God's  word  is  traced  up  to  the  Spirit ;  hence  David 
prayed,  "  Open  thou  mine  eyes,  that  I  may  behold 
wondrous  things  out  of  thy  law." — Psalm  cxix. 
18.  Paul  also  prayed  for  the  illumination  of  the 
Spirit,  on  behalf  of  the  Ephesians,  i.  17,  18.  Saac- 
tification  is  entirely  the  work  of  the  Spirit ;  see 
2  Thes.  ii.  15.  1  Pet.  i.  2.  Believers  are  said  to 
"  live  in  the  Spirit ;"  "  to  walk  in  the  Spirit ;"  "  to 
walk  not  after  the  flesh  but  after  the  Spirit ;"  "  to 
be  led  by  the  Spirit ;"  "  to  mortify  the  deeds  of  the 
body  by  the  Spirit;"  "to  be  sealed  by  the  Spirit;" 
"to  have  the  Spirit  bearing  witness  with  their 
spirit,  that  they  are  the  children  of  God ;"  to  enjoy 


KNOWLEDGE.  61 

"  the  earnest  of  the  Spirit ;"  and  to  "  bring  forth  the 
fruits  of  the  Spirit."  Gal.  v.  22—25.  Rom.  viii 
1 — 16.  Ephes.  i.  13,  14.  Now  from  all  these  pas- 
sages, and  many  more  that  might  be  quoted,  it  is 
evident  that  the  work  of  genuine  religion  is,  from 
first  to  last,  carried  on  in  the  soul  by  the  Holy 
Ghost.  This  is  his  department,  so  to  speak,  in  the 
economy  of  our  redemption.  The  Father  is  repre- 
sented as  originating  the  scheme ;  the  Son  as  exe- 
cuting it ;  the  Spirit  as  applying  it.  But  in  order 
that  your  mind  may  not  be  perplexed,  as  is  some- 
times the  case,  by  this  doctrine,  I  will  make  one 
or  two  remarks  on  the  subject  of  divine  influence. 

The  design  of  the  Spirifs  influence  is  not  to 
give  new  mental  facidties,  hut  a  proper  exercise 
oj  those  we  already  possess.  This  great  work  is 
to  create  a  new  heart  in  the  smner,  which  means  a 
new  and  holy  disposition.  Man  by  nature  is  so  de- 
praved that  he  cannot  love  God  ;  i.  e.  he  is  so  des- 
perately wicked  that  he  is  not  in  a  mind  to  love  him, 
and  never  will  be  till  God  changes  his  mind. 

The  icork  of  the  Holy  Spirit  upon  the  mind  is 
very  mysterioits,  and  we  ought  not  to  spend  time 
in  endeavourmg  to  comprehend  it,  nor  to  indulge 
in  any  speculations  about  it.  Our  Lord  declares  it 
to  be  a  great  mystery,  where  he  says  to  Nicodemus, 
"  The  wind  bloweth  where  it  listeth,  and  thou 
hearest  the  sound  thereof,  but  canst  not  tell  whence 
itcometh  and  whither  it  goeth :  so  is  every  one  that 
is  born  of  the  Spirit," — John  iii.  8.  We  see  the  ef- 
6 


62  KNOWLEDGE. 

fects  of  ihe  wind,  but  we  cannot  account  for  the 
changes  in  the  atmosphere  :  so  it  is  in  the  conver- 
sion of  a  sinner.  It  would  greatly  arrest  the  pro- 
gress of  the  enquirer  to  engage  in  any  speculation? 
about  this,  or  any  other  mystery  of  divine  truth. 

The  work  of  the  Spirit  is  not  intended  to  su- 
persede the  use  of  our  faculties,  but  to  direct 
them  aright.  He  does  not  work  without  us,  but 
by  us  :  he  does  not  change,  and  convert,  and  sanc- 
tify us,  by  leaving  us  idle  spectators  of  the  work, 
but  by  engaging  us  in  it.  Hence  the  admonition 
of  the  apostle  to  the  Philippians,  ii.  10, 1 1.  "  Work 
out  your  own  salvation  with  fear  and  trembling, 
for  it  is  God  that  worketh  in  you  both  to  will  and 
to  do,  of  his  own  good  pleasure."  The  exhorta- 
tion you  perceive  does  not  say,  "  Since  it  is  God 
that  worketh,  there  is  nothing  for  you  to  do,  and 
you  may  therefore  sit  still."  No,  on  the  contrary, 
it  is,  "Do  you  work,  for  God  works  in  you."  God's 
working  in  us,  is  a  motive  for  our  working.  It  is 
the  breeze  that  wafts  the  ships  along,  but  then  the 
mariner  must  hoist  his  sail  to  catch  it ;  it  is  the 
rain  and  sunshine  that  cause  the  seed  to  germinate 
and  grow,  but  the  husbandman  must  plough  and 
sow,  for  though  the  seed  cannot  grow  without  the 
influence  of  the  heavens,  so  neither  can  it  grow 
without  the  sowing  of  the  husbandman. 

We  cannot  usually  distinguish  between  the  in- 
fluence of  the  Spirit,  and  the  operations  of  our 
own  faculties,  nor  is  it  necessary  we  should. — 


KNOWLEDGE.  63 

We  cannot  tell  where  man  ends,  and  God  begins, 
nor  ought  we  to  trouble  or  perplex  ourselves  about 
the  matter.  Hence  instead  of  waiting  for  any 
sensible  or  ascertainable  impulse  of  the  Spirit, 
either  before  we  begin  religion  at  ail,  or  before  we 
engage  in  any  particular  exercise  of  it,  we  are  im- 
mediately to  engage  all  our  faculties,  and  at  the 
same  time,  engage  them  in  a  spirit  of  entire  depend- 
ance  upon  God.  We  are  to  fix  our  attention,  to 
deliberate,  to  purpose,  to  resolve,  to  choose,  just  as 
we  should  in  worldly  matters,  but  we  are  to  do  all 
this  with  a  feeling  of  reliance,  and  in  the  very  spirit 
of  prayer.  It  is  our  obvious  duty  to  repent  and  to 
believe,  and  also  to  do  this  at  once,  and  not  merely 
to  desire  to  do  it  or  attempt  to  do  it :  but  such  is 
the  depravity  of  our.  nature,  that  we  never  shall  do 
it  till  God  influences  us.  What  we  have  to  do, 
therefore,  is  immediately  to  obey  the  command  to 
repent  and  believe  ;  but  to  obey  in  the  very  lan- 
guage and  feeling  of  that  prayer,  "  Lord  help  mine 
unbelief."  We  must  obey,  not  only  believing  that 
it  is  our  duty  to  obey,  but  believing  also  that  we 
shall  be  assisted.  Hence  the  very  essence  of  re- 
ligion seems  to  be  a  spirit  of  vigorous  exertion, 
blended  with  a  spirit  of  unlimited  dependance  and 
earnest  prayer.  An  illustration  may  be  borrowed, 
as  recorded  Matthew  xii.  10,  from  the  case  of  the 
man  with  the  withered  arm.  Our  Lord  command- 
ed him  to  stretch  forth  his  hand,  and  he  did  not 
say.  Lord,  I  cannot,  it  is  dead ;  but  relying  on  his 


84  KNOWLEDGE. 

power  who  gave  the  injunction,  and  believing  that 
the  command  implied  a  promise  of  help  if  he  were 
willing  to  receive  it,  he  stretched  it  forth ;  i.  e.  he 
willed  to  do  it,  and  he  was  able.  So  it  must  be 
with  the  sinner  ;  he  is  commanded  to  repent  and 
believe,  and  he  is  not  to  say,  I  cannot,  for  I  am  dead 
in  sin ;  but  he  is  to  believe  in  the  promised  aid  of 
grace,  and  will  to  obey  in  a  dependance  upon  Him, 
who  worketh  men  to  will  and  to  do. 


CHAPTER   IV. 


ON  REPENTANCE. 

"  Except  ye  repent  ye  shall  all  likewise  perish." 
Such  was  the  awful  and  tremendous  denunciation 
of  our  Lord,  to  those  Jews  who  were  at  that  time 
listening  to  his  discourse.  And  except  you  repent, 
my  reader,  you  will  perish,  perish  body  and  soul 
in  the  bottomless  pit,  and  perish  everlastingly. 
There  is  a  world  of  misery  in  that  word  perish  ; 
it  is  deep  as  hell,  broad  as  infinity,  and  long  as 
eternity.  None  can  comprehend  its  meaning  but 
lost  souls,  and  they  are  ever  discovering  in  it  some 
new  mystery  of  misery.  T  his  misery  will  be  yours 
unless  you  repent.  Tremble  at  the  thought,  and 
pray  to  Him  who  was  exalted  "  to  bestow  repent- 
ance as  well  as  remission  of  sins,"  that  he  would 
confer  this  grace  upon  you.  But  what  is  it  to  re- 
pent ?  It  is  more,  much  more,  than  mere  sorrow 
for  sin :  this  is  evident  from  what  the  apostle  has 
remarked ;  "  Godly  sorrow  worketh  repentance  to 
salvation,  not  to  be  repented  of." — 2  Cor.  vii.  10. 
True  sorrow  for  sin  is  a  part  of  repentance  and 
only  a  part ;  for  the  scripture  just  quoted,  evidently 
'     6* 


M  REPENTANCE. 

makes  a  distinction  between  them.  Many,  very 
many  grieve  for  their  sins,  who  never  repent  of 
them.  Men  may  grieve  for  the  consequences  of 
their  sins,  without  mourning  for  the  sins  them- 
selves. The  meaning  of  the  word  repent,  generally 
used  in  the  Greek  scriptures,  is  a  change  of  mind. 
Repentance,  therefore,  signifies  an  entire  change 
of  man's  views,  disposition,  and  conduct,  with 
respect  to  sin.  It  is  equivalent  in  meaning  to  re- 
generation. The  new  birth  means  a  change  of 
heart,  and  repentance  is  that  same  change  viewed 
in  reference  to  sin.  The  author  of  repentance  is 
the  Holy  Ghost;  it  is  the  eifect  of  divine  grace 
working  in  the  heart  of  man.  The  following 
things  are  included  in  true  repentance. 

1.  Conviction  of  sin.  "  When  he  (the  Spirit)  is 
come,  said  Christ,  he  shall  reprove  (i.  e.  convince) 
the  world  of  sin." — John  xvi.  8.  The  true  peni- 
tent has  a  clear  view  of  his  state  before  God  as  a 
guilty  and  depraved  creature.  All  men  say  they 
are  sinners,  he  knows  it ;  they  talk  of  it,  he  feels  it; 
they  have  heard  it  from  others,  and  taken  it  up  as 
an  opinion,  he  has  learnt  it  by  the  teaching  of  God, 
who  has  shown  him  the  purity  of  the  law,  and  the 
wickedness  of  his  own  conduct  and  heart,  as  op- 
posed to  the  law.  He  has  looked  into  the  bright 
and  faithful  mirror,  and  has  seen  his  exceeding 
sinfulness.  He  perceives  that  he  has  lived  with- 
out God,  for  he  has  not  loved,  and  served,  and 
glorified  him.    This  in  his  view  is  sin ;  not  loving 


REPENTANCE.  67 

and  serving  God.  He  may  not  have  been  profli- 
gate, but  he  has  lived  without  God ;  and  even  if  he 
had  been  openly  vicious,  this  is  the  parent  vice,  his 
want  of  love  to  God.  He  sees  that  all  his  worldly- 
mindedness,  folly,andwickedness,have sprung  from 
a  depraved  heart ;  a  heart  alienated  from  God.  He 
formerly  thought  he  was  not  quite  as  he  ought  to 
be,  but  now  he  perceives  that  he  has  been  alto- 
gether what  he  ought  not  to  be ;  formerly  he  knew 
matters  were  not  quite  right,  but  he  now  sees  they 
were  all  wrong ;  then  he  was  of  opinion  he  had 
no  very  strong  claim  upon  God's  justice  or  even 
mercy,  but  now  he  perceives  clearly  that  he  has 
been  so  great  a  sinner  that  God  would  have  been 
just  had  he  cast  him  into  hell.  This  is  now  his 
confession : — 

Should  sudden  vengeance  seize  my  breath, 
I  must  pronounce  Thee  just  in  death; 
And  if  my  soul  were  sent  to  hell, 
Thy  righteous  law  approves  it  well. 

Can  you  subscribe  to  this,  Reader  ?  if  not,  you  are 
not  yet  convinced  of  sin  as  you  must  be.  No  man" 
knows  what  sin  is,  and  how  sinful  he  is,  who  does 
not  clearly  see  that  he  has  deserved  to  be  cast  into 
"  the  lake  that  burneth  with  fire." 

2.  Self  condemnation  is  implied  in  true  repent- 
ance. As  long  as  a  person  indulges  a  self-justify- 
ing spirit,  and  is  disposed,  if  not  to  defend  his  sins, 
yet  to  excuse  them,  he  is  not  truly  penitent,  he  is 
not  indeed  convinced  of  sin.     To  frame  excuses 


^  REPENTANCE. 

for  sin,  and  to  take  refuge  from  the  voice  of  accu- 
sation and  the  stings  of  conscience,  in  circumstan^ 
ces  of  palliation,  is  the  besetting  infirmity  of  human 
nature,  which  first  showed  itself  in  our  fallen 
parents,  when  the  man  threw  the  blame  upon  th 
woman,  and  the  woman  upon  the  serpent ;  and  it 
has  since  continued  to  show  itself  in  all  their  de- 
scendants. We  very  commonly  hear  those  who 
have  been  recently  led  to  see  their  sins,  mitigating 
their  guilt ;  one  by  pleading  the  peculiarity  of  his 
situation  j  another  his  constitution ;  a  third  the 
strength  of  the  temptation ;  a  fourth  imputes  his 
actual  sins  to  his  original  sin,  and  endeavours,  on 
this  ground,  to  lessen  his  sense  of  guilt.  But  there 
i$  no  trije  repentance  while  this  frame  of  mind 
lasts.  No,  never  till  the  sinner  has  cast  aside  all 
excuses,  rejected  all  pleas  of  extenuation,  and 
abandoned  all  desire  of  self  justification;  never  till 
he  is  brought  to  take  the  whole  blame  upon  him- 
self; never  till  he  pronounces  his  own  sentence  ol 
condemnation;  never  till  his  mouth  is  stopped  as 
to  excuse,  and  he  is  brought  unfeignedly  and  con- 
tritely to  exclaim,  guilty,  guilty  !  is  he  truly  peni 
tent.  Some  such  as  this  is  now  his  sincere  con 
fession : — "  O  God,  thou  injured  Sovereign,  thou 
all  Holy  God,  and  all  righteous  Judge,  I  can  attempt 
to  excuse  myself  no  longer.  I  stand  before  thee  a 
convicted,  self-condemned  sinner.  What  has  my 
life  been  but  a  course  of  rebellion  against  thee  ?  It 
is  not  this  or  that  action  alone  I  have  to  lament. 


REPENTANCE.  69 

My  whole  soul  has  been  disordered  and  depraved. 

All  my  thoughts,  my  affections,  my  desires,  my 
pursuits,  have  been  alienated  from  thee.  I  have 
not  loved  thee,  thou  God  of  holy  love.  O  Virhat  a 
heart  have  I  carried  in  my  bosom,  that  could  love 
the  world,  love  my  friends,  love  trifles,  yea,  love 
sin,  but  could  not  love  thee.  Particular  sins  do  not 
so  much  oppress  me,  as  this  awful  horrid  state  of 
my  carnal  mind  at  enmity  against  thee.  O  what 
patience  was  it  that  thou  didst  not  crush  the  poor 
feeble  creature  that  had  no  virtue  to  love  thee,  and 
no  power  to  resist  thee.  My  whole  life  has  been 
one  continued  state  of  sin ;  what  seemed  good  was 
done  from  no  good  motive,  for  it  was  not  done  out 
of  obedience  or  love  to  thee,  and  with  no  intention 
to  please  or  to  glorify  thee.  Once  I  thought  as 
little  of  my  sin,  as  I  thought  of  that  gracious  and 
righteous  God  against  whom  it  was  committed; 
and  even  when  the  knowledge  of  sin  began  to 
glimmer  on  the  dark  horizon  of  my  guilty  soul,  how 
perversely  did  I  resist  the  light,  and  how  deceit- 
fully, and  wickedly,  and  presumptuously  did  I 
attempt  to  stand  up  in  judgment  with  thee,  and 
in  proud  self-confidence  plead  my  own  cause. 
O  with  what  lying  excuses,  with  what  false  ex- 
tenuations, did  I  make  my  wickedness  more  wicked, 
and  tempt  thy  vengeance,  and  seek  to  draw  thy 
thunderbolts  upon  my  devoted  head.  Eternal 
thanks  for  thy  marvellous  long  suffering,  and  thy 
matchless  grace,  in  not  only  bearing  with  my  pro- 


70  HEPENTANCE. 

vocations,  but  convincing  me  of  my  folly.  Stripped 
of  all  my  pleas,  silent  as  to  every  excuse,  I  cast 
myself  before  thee,  uttering  only  that  one  confes- 
sion, guilty,  guilty ;  and  urging  only  that  one  plea, 
mercy,  mercy." 

3.  Repentance  includes  sorrow  for  sin.  If  a 
man  does  not  mourn  for  sin,  he  cannot  repent  of  it. 
The  apostle  speaks  of  "  godly  sorrow,"  and  the 
Psalmist  exemplifies  it  in  the  fifty-first  Psalm. 
Awakened  and  anxious  Sinner,  I  commend  to  thine 
especial  attention  that  affecting  and  precious  efiu- 
sion  of  David's  contrition.  Read  it  often  ;  read  it 
upon  thy  knees  in  thy  closet ;  read  it  as  thy  own 
prayer ;  read  it  till  thy  heart  responds  a  sigh  to 
every  groan  with  which  each  verse  seems  still 
vocal.  With  those  melting  strains  of  a  broken 
heart  sounding  in  thy  ears  review  the  history  of  thy 
life,  and  the  dark  and  winding  course  of  thy  rebel- 
lion against  God.  Pause  and  ponder  as  thou  tracest 
back  thy  steps,  in  each  scene  of  thy  transgression 
and  God's  patience.  Dwell  upon  the  length  of  thy 
term  of  sin,  and  all  the  aggravations  of  that  sin 
derived  from  religious  advantages,  pious  friends, 
and  a  reproving  conscience.  Assail  thy  hard  heart 
with  motives  to  contrition,  fetched  from  every  view 
of  God's  mercy  and  thy  own  ingratitude,  nor  cease 
to  smite  the  rock  till  the  waters  of  penitence  gush 
forth.  Nor  let  thy  sorrow  be  selfish  ;  mourn  more 
for  thy  sins  as  committed  against  God,  than  against 
thyself.    Turn  again  to  the  fifty-first  Psalm,  and  see 


REPEIN'TANCE.  71 

how  David  felt : — "  Against  thee,  thee  only,  have 
I  sinned,  and  done  this  evil  in  thy  sight." 
Wonderful  language  !  What  views  of  sin  were 
then  in  his  mind;  and  O  what  views  of  God.  He 
had  seduced  Bathsheba  into  the  greatest  sin  a  wife 
can  commit:  he  had  murdered  her  husband;  and 
had  thus  committed  two  of  the  most  enormous 
evils  against  the  well  being  of  society,  and  yet  so 
impressed  was  he  with  a  sense  of  his  sin  as  com- 
mitted against  God,  that  he  could  now  think  only 
upon  this.  "  Against  thee,  thou  holy,  holy,  holy 
Lord  God,  have  I  sinned.  Against  thee,  my  bene- 
factor, who  didst  raise  me  from  the  sheepfold  to  be 
the  governor  of  thy  people.  Oh,  this  is  the  crim- 
son hue  of  my  offence,  this  is  the  sting  of  my  re- 
morse ;  this  is  the  wormwood  and  the  gall  of  the 
cup  of  bitterness  I  now  drink.  Thou  art  willing  to 
forgive  me,  and  the  thought  of  thy  mercy  blackens 
my  crime,  and  envenoms  my  self-abhorrence." 
This  is  godly  sorrow ;  a  grief  for  sin  as  sin,  and  as 
committed  against  so  holy  and  gracious  a  God,  and 
not  merely  a  grief  for  the  mischief  we  have  done 
to  ourselves.  Godly  sorrow  grieves  for  those  sins 
which  God  only  knows ;  for  those  sins  which  it 
knows  he  w\\\  forgive,  yea,  which  it  is  assured  he 
has  forgiven ;  and  this  is  the  test  of  genuine  con- 
trition :  do  we  mourn  for  sin  as  sin,  or  only  for  fear 
of  punishment  ? 

4.  Repentance  includes  hatred  of  sin,  forsak- 
ing it,  and  a  determination  not  to  repeat  it.    No 


n  REPENTANCE. 

man  can  truly  repent  of  an  act  without  a  feeling  of 
dislike  to  that  act;  the^  two  cannot  be  separated, 
yea,  they  are  the  same  thing.  Reformation  produced 
by  penitence  is  repentance.  A  person  that  has 
been  stung  by  a  serpent,  will  not  caress  the  reptile 
while  he  bathes  the  wounds  he  has  inflicted,  with 
the  tears  of  sorrow :  no,  he  will  destroy  the  viper, 
or  flee  from  him,  and  will  ever  after  be  inspired 
with  fresh  terror  and  dislike  of  the  whole  serpent 
race.  The  penitent  regards  sin  as  the  viper  that 
has  stung  him,  and  will  ever  after  hate  it,  dread  it, 
and  watch  against  it.  Practices  that  before  were 
delighted  in,  will  be  abhorred  and  shunned ;  and 
instead  of  trying  how  near  he  may  come  to  them 
without  committing  them,  or  how  many  things  he 
may  do  that  are  like  them,  without  doing  the  very 
things,  he  will  try  how  far  he  can  retire  from  them 
and  how  entirely  he  may  avoid  the  very  appear- 
ance of  evil.  Will  the  serpent-bitten  man  try  how 
near  he  can  approach  the  rattlesoake  without  being 
stung  again,  or  will  he  fondle  reptiles  as  like  the 
species  as  they  can  be,  without  being  so  deadly 
venomous  ?  No.  Observe  how  repentance  wrought 
in  the  members  of  the  Corinthian  church :  "  For 
behold,  this  selfsame  thing  that  ye  sorrowed  after 
a  godly  sort,  what  carefulness  it  wrought  in  you, 
yea,  what  clearing  of  yourselves ;  yea,  what  indig- 
nation ;  yea,  what  fear ;  yea,  what  vehement  de- 
sire ;  yea,  what  zeal ;  yea,  what  revenge." — 2  Cor. 
vii.  11. 


U  E  P  E  N  T  A  N  C  E .  73 

Such  is  repentance. 

But  it  is  important  to  guard  the  Enquirer  against 
some  perplexities  with  which  many  are  very  apt 
to  trouble  themselves  on  this  subject. 

You  are  not  to  suppose  that  you  do  not  repent, 
because  you  have  never  been  the  subject  of  over^ 
whelming  terror  and  excessive  grief.  Persons 
in  the  first  stages  of  religious  impression  are  very 
apt  to  be  cast  down  and  discouraged,  because  they 
do  not  feel  those  agonizing  and  terrifying  convic- 
tions, that  some  whom  they  have  hear<i  or  read 
of  have  experienced.  Others,  again,  are  greatly 
troubled  because  they  do  not  and  cannot  shed  tears, 
and  utter  groans  under  a  sense  of  sin,  as  some  do. 
[f  they  could  either  be  wrought  up  to  terror,  or 
melted  into  weeping,  they  should  then  take  some 
comfort,  and  have  some  hope,  that  their  convictions 
were  genuine.  Now  it  is  very  probable  that  yow. 
Reader,  have  these  fears,  and  are  labouring  under 
some  mistakes  as  the  ground  of  them. 

It  may  be  that  this  longing  after  greater  terror  or 
deeper  grief,  may  spring  from  a  wrong  motive. 
If  you  possessed  these  feelings  you  would  be  com- 
forted, and  have  hope,  you  think ;  yes,  and  thus  by 
looking  to  your  own  feelings  for  comfort,  make  a 
saviour  of  your  experience  instead  of  Christ,  as  I 
fear  many  do.  "  Oh  !"  say  some,  or  if  they  do  not 
say  it,  they  feel  it,  "  now  I  have  had  such  deep 
convictions,  and  such  meltings  of  heart,  I  think  I 
may  hope.  But  is  not  this  putting  their  feelings 
7 


T4  REPENTANCE. 

in  the  place  of  the  work  of  Christ  ?  If  you  could 
endure  for  awhile  the  torments  of  hell  in  your  con- 
science, and  shed  all  the  tears  of  all  the  penitents 
in  the  world,  these  would  not  save  you ;  and  to 
take  comfort  and  hope  from  these  things,  would  be 
resting  on  a  sandy  foundation.  But  perhaps  you 
think  this  deep  experience  would  be  a  stronger 
ground  of  confidence  to  go  to  Christ.  Is  not  his 
own  word,  then,  a  sufficient  warrant?  Do  you 
want  any  other  warrant,  or  can  you  have  any 
other  ?  Is  not  his  invitation  and  promise,  enough  1 
What  can  your  feelings  add  to  this?  In  some 
cases  there  is  pride  at  the  bottom  of  this  longing 
after  terror  and  distress  :  the  person  who  covets  it, 
wishes  to  be  distinguished  among  christians  for 
his  deep  experience  and  great  attainments  ;  or  he 
may  wish  to  have  something  of  his  own  to  dwell 
upon  with  pleasure,  a  something  that  shall  em- 
bolden him  in  his  approach  to  God ;  it  is  in  fact  a 
subtle  species  of  self  righteousness,  a  looking  to 
inward  feelings  if  not  to  good  works,  as  something 
to  depend  upon,  and  to  glory  in  before  God. 

This  anxiety  may  arise  also  from  a  partial 
and  incorrect  view  of  the  nature  of  real  religion. 
True  religion  is  not  a  matter  of  mere  feeling  and 
strong  emotion,  but  a  matter  of  judgment,  and 
conscience,  and  practical  principle.  You  must 
recollect  that  the  minds  of  men  are  variously  con- 
stituted as  regards  susceptibility  of  emotion.  Some 
persons  are  possessed  of  far  livelier  feelings  than 


REPENTANCE.  75 

Others,  and  are  far  more  easily  moved ;  we  see  this 
in  the  common  subjects  of  life  as  well  as  in  reli- 
gion. One  man  feels  as  truly  the  affection  of  love 
for  his  wife  and  children  as  another  whose  love  is 
more  vehement,  though  he  may  not  fondle,  caress, 
and  talk  of  them  so  much ;  he  may  not  even  suffer 
those  paroxysms  of  alarm  when  any  thing  ails 
them,  nor  of  frantic  grief  when  they  are  taken  from 
him ;  but  he  loves  them  so  as  to  prefer  them  to  all 
others,  to  labour  for  them,  to  make  sacrifices  for 
their  comfort,  and  really  to  grieve  when  they  are 
removed.  His.  love  and  grief  are  as  sincere  and 
practical,  though  they  are  not  boisterous,  passion- 
ate, and  noisy :  his  principle  of  attachment  is  as 
strong,  if  his  passion  be  not  so  ardent.  Passion 
depends  on  constitutional  temperament,  but  prin- 
ciple does  not.  Mere  emotion  therefore,  whether 
in  religion  or  other  matters,  is  no  test  of  the  gen- 
uineness of  affection.  Do  not  then,  my  reader,  be 
troubled  on  this  matter,  your  religion  is  not  to  be 
tried  by  the  number  of  the  tears  you  shed,  or  the 
degree  of  terror  you  feel,  or  the  measure  of  excite- 
ment to  which  you  are  wrought  up ;  there  may  be 
much  of  all  this  where  there  is  not  true  repentance, 
and  there  may  be  little  of  it  where  there  is.  Are 
you  clearly  instructed  in  the  knowledge  of  God's 
holy  nature  and  perfect  law,  so  as  distinctly  to 
perceive,  and  really  to  feel,  and  frankly  to  confess, 
your  numberless  sins  of  conduct,  and  deep  de- 
pravity of  heart?     Do  you  truly  admit  your  just 


70  REPENTANCE. 

desert  of  that  curse  which  your  sins  have  brought 
upon  you?  Do  you  cast  away  all  excuses,  and 
take  the  whole  blame  of  your  sins  upon  yourself? 
Do  you  really  mourn  for  your  sins,  although  you 
may  shed  few  tears  or  heave  few  broken  groans  ? 
Do  you  confess  your  sins  to  God  without  reserve, 
as  well  as  without  excuse?  Do  you  truly  hate 
sin  and  abhor  yourself  on  account  of  sin?  Do 
you  feel  a  repugnance  to  sin,  a  watchfulness 
against  it,  a  dread  of  it  in  the  least  offences? 
Are  you  the  subject  of  a  new  and  growing  ten- 
derness of  conscience  with  respect  to  sin  ?  Then 
you  are  partakers  of  true  repentance,  although 
you  may  not  be  the  subjects  of  those  violent  emo- 
tions either  of  terror  or  of  grief  which  some  have 
experienced. 

I  do  not  for  a  moment  mean  to  throw  suspicion 
over  the  experience  of  those  who  have  been  called 
to  pass  through  a  state  of  conviction,  which,  on 
account  of  its  terrific  alarms  and  unutterable  an- 
guish, may  be  called  the  valley  of  the  shadow  of 
death.  By  no  means.  God  has  led  some  of  his 
people,  not  only  hard  by  the  clouds,  and  blackness, 
and  thunders,  and  earthquakes,  and  trumpet,  and 
awful  words  of  Sinai,  but  even  by  the  very  brink 
of  the  burning  pit,  within  sight  of  its  flames,  and 
within  sound  of  its  wailings  jr— but  let  no  man 
covet  such  a  road  to  glory ;  let  no  man  doubt  he 
has  mistaken  the  road,  because  he  has  not  wit- 
nessed  these  dreadful   scenes  in  his  way.     All 


REPENTANCE.  77 

must  pass  by  both  mount  Sinai  and  mount  Calvary 
in  the  way  to  heaven,  but  the  view  is  neither  so 
clear  nor  so  impressive  of  either  of  them,  to  some 
as  to  others. 

7* 


CHAPTER   V 


Suppose  a  number  of  the  subjects  of  a  wise  and 
good  king  were,  without  any  just  cause,  to  rebel 
against  him,  and  take  up  arms  to  dethrone  him, 
they  would  by  that  act  forfeit  their  lives.  Still  the 
sovereign  in  his  great  clemency  is  disposed  to 
pardon  them,  and  for  that  purpose,  sends  out  a  pro- 
clamation, declaring  that  all  those  who  before  a 
fixed  time  Avould  come  to  him,  lay  down  their  arms, 
confess  their  oiTence,  and  sue  for  mercy,  should  be 
spared  and  restored  to  all  their  privileges  as  citi- 
zens ;  but  that  all  found  under  arms  and  who  did 
not  come  and  cast  themselves  upon  the  mercy  of 
their  sovereign,  should  be  put  to  death.  What,  in 
this  case,  is  the  state  of  mind  and  act  required  in 
those  who  would  be  saved  ?  Faith.  They  must 
believe  the  proclamation  to  have  been  issued  by 
the  monarch,  and  that  he  will  really  fulfil  his  word; 
they  must  not  only  believe  the  edict  itself,  but  they 
must  confide  in  the  monarch  ;  this  is  faith  in  him. 
What  is  their  warrant  or  encouragement  to  go  to 
him  ?     His  proclamation  of  mercy,  and  that  alone ; 


FAITH.  79 

and  not  any  convictions  or  desires  of  their  own.  If 
any  one  of  the  rebels  were  desirous  of  returning, 
he  would  not  say,  "  I  am  greatly  encouraged  and 
truly  warranted  to  go  and  expect  forgiveness,  be- 
cause I  am  very  anxious  to  be  forgiven ;"  for  his 
desire  of  pardon  of  itself,  is  no  warrant  to  expect 
it;  but  he  would  say,  "my  sovereign  has  bid  me 
return  and  promised  me  pardon :  I  have  his  word, 
and  I  can  trust  him ;  I  will  go  therefore,  and  I  con- 
fidently expect  mercy."  He  goes,  and  although 
he  knows  that  he  has  forfeited  his  life,  and  de- 
served death,  and  brought  himself  under  condem 
nation,  yet  he  is  assured  he  shall  be  spared,  be 
cause  the  king  has  promised  it,  and  he  trusts  in  his 
veracity.  This  is  faith.  Does  his  faith  merit  for- 
giveness? No,  but  it  ensures  it.  Can  the  man  boast  «. 
that  his  works  have  saved  him  ?  No ;  he  is  saved 
by  grace,  through  faith.  But  suppose,  when  he 
heard  the  proclamation  of  mercy,  he  was  merely 
convinced  of  his  sin,  and  in  some  measure  sorry 
for  it,  and  desired  forgiveness,  but  did  not  go  to  his 
sovereign  ;  suppose  he  were  to  say  to  himself,  "  I 
am  afraid  to  go,  the  prince  is  powerful,  being  sur- 
rounded by  his  guards  who  could  destroy  me  in  a 
moment,  and  I  have  been  such  a  ringleader  in  the 
rebellion,  that  I  cannot  hope  for  mercy,  although  I 
long  for  it  and  would  do  any  thing  to  obtain  it." 
The  time  of  mercy^ expires ;  the  man  is  taken  with 
arms  in  his  hand ;  and  he  is  put  to  death.  Does 
he  deserve  to  die?    Yes,  twice  over,  first  for  his 


80  FAITH. 

rebellion,  and  secondly  for  his  unbelief.  His  want 
of  faith,  not  his  rebellion,  was  the  actual  cause  of 
his  death.  His  sin  would  have  been  pardoned,  had 
he  believed.  His  convictions,  his  sorrow,  his  tears, 
his  desire  after  pardon,  could  not  save  him; — he 
had  insulted  his  sovereign  afresh,  by  doubting  his 
veracity,  and  disobeying  his  command. 

Awakened  Sinner,  take  heed  that  this  is  not 
your  case.  It  is  the  case  of  many.  They  are  rebels 
against  God,  they  are  guilty  of  innumerable  sins. 
"  God  has  so  loved  the  world  as  to  give  his  only 
begotten  Son,  that  whosoever  believeth  in  him 
should  not  perish  but  have  everlasting  life."  "  It  is 
a  faithful  saying  and  worthy  of  all  acceptation,  that 
Christ  Jesus  came  into  the  world  to  save  sinners." 
Thus  runs  the  proclamation  of  mercy  : — "  Repent 
of  sin,  believe  in  Christ,  expect  salvation."  Many 
do  believe  and  are  saved :  but  others,  and  there  are 
multitudes,  get  no  further  than  conviction  ;  they 
know  they  are  sinners,  they  desire  pardon,  and  are 
even  willing  to  forsake  their  sins — but,  they  do  not 
believe  in  Christ,  they  do  not  return  to  God,  by 
faith  in  his  Son,  indulging  a  confident  hope  of  for- 
giveness ;  they  are  afraid  to  go,  saying  their  sins 
are  too  great  to  be  forgiven,  or  they  are  contented 
to  remain  in  a  state  of  repentance  ;  or  before  they 
have  trusted  in  Christ  and  experienced  a  real 
change  of  heart  through  faith,  some  worldly  object 
or  other  draws  off  their  attention  from  the  Saviour, 
and  they  sink  into  a  state  of  carelessness,  and 


FAITH.  81  ■ 

gradually  go  back  again  to  the  world.  You  are 
never  safe,  Reader,  till  you  have  faith.  What- 
ever may  have  been  your  tears,  your  convictions, 
prayers,  or  exercises  of  mind,  you  are  under  the 
sentence  of  the  law,  and  exposed  to  the  wrath  of 
God  till  you  believe.--  If  death  come  upon  you 
before  you  have  faith,  you  will  as  certainly  and  as 
deservedly  perish,  as  the  rebel,  who  though  he  had 
expressed  his  sorrow  for  his  treason,  had  not  come 
in  and  cast  down  his  arms,  and  accepted  the  royal 
mercy.  You  are  within  the  flood  mark  of  divine 
vengeance  till  you  have  confided  your  soul  to  Christ. 
Can  we  be  saved  if  we  are  not  justified?  No. 
Then  we  are  "justified  by  faith  and  have  peace 
with  God." — Rom.  v.  1.  Can  we  be  saved  unless 
we  are  the  children  of  God  ?  No.  Then  "  we  are 
all  the  children  of  God  by  faith  in  Christ  Jesus." 
— Gal.  iii.  26.  Can  we  be  saved  without  sanctifi- 
cation  ?  No.  Then  "  our  hearts  are  purified«6i/ 
faith.''  When  the  jailer  at  Philippi  asked  with 
fear  and  trembling  the  question,  "  What  shall  I  do 
to  be  saved  ?"  Paul,  replied,  "  Believe  in  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ  and  thou  shalt  be  saved."" — Acts  xvi. 
31.  When  our  Lord  sent  out  his  disciples,  he  said 
unto  them,  "  Go  ye  into  all  the  world  and  preach 
the  gospel  to  every  creature,  he  that  believeth  and 
is  baptized  shall  be  saved,  but  he  that  believeth 
not  shall  be  damned.''' — Mark  xvi.  15,  16.  It  is 
also  said  in  another  place,  "  He  that  believeth  on 
him  is  not  condemned,  but  he  that  believeth  not 


83  FAITH. 

is  condemned  already  because  he  hath  not,  believ 
ed  on  the  name  of  the  only  begotten  Son  of  God. 
He  that  believeth  on  the  Son  hath  everlasting 
life,  but  he  that  believeth  not  the  Son,  shall  not 
see  life,  but  the  wrath  of  God  abideth  on  him." — 
John  iii.  15,  16.  "  He  that  believeth  on  the  Son 
of  God  hath  the  witness  in  himself;  he  that  be- 
lieveth not  God  hath  made  him  a  liar;  because  he 
^believeth  not  the  record  that  God  gave  of  his 
♦Son." — John  v.  10.  See  then  the  importance,  the 
tremendous  importance,  of  faith  in  Christ.  It  is 
the  hinge  on  which  salvation  turns  ;  it  is  that,  with- 
out which  all  knowledge,  and  all  impressions,  and 
all  convictions,  and  all  duties,  will  leave  us  short 
of  heaven  at  last.  Fix  it  deeply  in  your  mind) 
therefore,  that  faith  is  the  saving  grace,  or  in 
other  words,  it  is  that  state  of  mind  with  which 
salvation  is  connected  ;  being  brought  into  this 
stale  you  would  be  saved  though  you  died  the  next 
hour,  and  without  which  you  would  not  be  saved, 
even  had  you  been  for  years  under  the  deepest 
concern. 

But  you  will  probably  wish  to  know  a  little  more 
about  this  transcendently  important  state  of  mind ; 
and  I  shall  therefore  set  before  you, 

1.  What  you  are  to  believe.  Faith  in  general, 
means  a  belief  of  whatever  God  has  testified  in  his 
word ;  but  faith  in  Christ  means  the  belief  of 
what  the  scripture  saith  of  him;  of  his  person, 
•  pffices  ajid  work.  You  are  to  believe  that  he  is  "  the 


83 


Son  of  God  ;''  "  God  manifest  in  the  flesh  ;"  God- 
man — Mediator :  for  how  can  a  mere  creature  be 
your  Saviour  2  In  faith,  you  commit  your  soul  to 
the  Lord  Jesus.  What !  into  the  hands  of  a  mere 
creature  ?  The  divinity  of  Christ  is  thus  not 
merely  an  article  of  faith,  but  enters  also  into  the 
foundation  of  hope.  You  are  required  to  believe 
in  the  doctrine  of  atonement ;  that  Christ  satisfied 
divine  justice  for  human  guilt,  having  been  made 
a  propitiation  for  our  sins;  and  that  now  his  sacri- 
fice and  righteousness  are  the  only  ground  or  foun- 
dation on  which  a  sinner  can  be  accepted  and  ac- 
quitted before  God.  You  are  to  believe,  that  all, 
however  previously  guilty  and  unworthy,  are  wel- 
come to  God  for  salvation,  without  any  exception, 
or  any  difficulty  whatever.  You  arc  to  believe  that 
God  really  loves  the  world,  and  is  truly  willing 
and  waiting  to  save  the  chief  of  sinners,  and 
that  he  therefore  loves  youj  and  thus  instead' of 
dwelling  in  the  idea  of  a  mere  general  or  universal 
love,  you  are  to  bring  the  matter  home  to  yourself, 
and  to  believe  that  God  has  good  will  towards  you, 
has  given  Christ  to  die  for  you.  You  are  a  part  of 
the  world  which  God  loved,  and  for  which  Christ 
died,  and  you  are  not  to  lose  yourself  in  the  crowd. 
You  are  not  to  consider  the  scheme  of  redemption 
for  any  body,  or  for  every  body,  but  yourself;  but 
you  are  to  give  the  whole  an  individual  bearing 
upon  yourself.  You  are  to  say,  "  God  is  well  dis- 
posed-towards  me  J  Christ  is  given  for  ine ;  died 


84  FAITH. 

for  me  as  well  as  for  others ;  /  am  invited  ;  /  shall 
be  saved  if  I  trust  in  Christ :  and  /am  as  welcome 
as  any  one  to  Christ."  Faith  is  not  a  belief  in 
your  own  personal  religion,  this  is  the  assurance  of 
hope ;  but  it  is  a  belief  that'God  loves  sinners,  and 
that  Christ  died  for  sinners,  and  you  amongst  the 
rest ;  it  is  not  a  belief  that  you  are  a  real  Christian, 
but  that  Christ  is  willing  to  give  you  all  the  bless- 
ings included  in  that  term.  It  is  the  belief  of 
something  out  of  yourself,  but  still  of  something 
concerning  yourself.  The  object  of  faith  is  the 
work  of  Christ  for  you,  not  the  work  of  the  Spirit 
in  you.  It  is  of  great  consequence  you  should  at- 
tend to  this,  because  many  are  apt  to  confound 
these  things.  If  I  promise  a  man  alms,  and  he 
really  believes  what  I  say,  and  expects  relief,  I,  in 
the  act  of  promising  him,  am  the  object  of  his 
faith,  and  not  the  state  of  his  own  mind  in  the  act 
of  believing.  If  therefore  you  would  have  faith, 
or  possessing  it,  would  have  it  strengthened,  you 
must  fix  and  keep  your  eye  on  the  testimony  of 
Christ  which  you  find  in  the  gospel. 

2.  I  will  now  show  you  now  you  are  to  believe. 
But  is  this  necessary  ?  There  is  no  mystery  in 
faith  when  we  speak  of  believing  a  fellow-creature. 
When  the  rebel  is  required  to  believe  in  the  pro- 
clamation of  mercy  sent  out  by  his  sovereign,  and 
to  come  and  sue  for  pardon  ;  or  when  the  beggar  is 
required  to  believe  in  the  promise  of  a  benefactor 
who  has  promised  him  relief,  does  it  enter  into  his 


mind  to  ask  how  he  is  to  believe  ?  What  in  each 
of  these  cases  does  faith  mean  1  A  belief  that  the 
promise  has  been  made,  and  a  confidence  in  the 
person  who  made  it  that  he  will  fulfil  his  word. 
Behold  then  the  whole  mystery  there  is  in  faith  I 
It  is  a  belief  that  Christ  really  died  for  sinners, 
that  all  who  depend  upon  him  alone  shall  be  saved  J 
and  a  trust  in  him  for  salvation.  Yes,  it  is,  if  we 
may  substitute  another  word  as  explanatory  of 
faith,  it  is  trust  in  Christ.  Faith,  and  confidence 
in  Christ,  are  the  same  thing.  "  I  know  whom  I 
have  believed,"  says  the  apostle,  "  and  am  persua- 
ded he  is  able  to  keep  that  which  I  have  committed 
to  him."  Believing,  being  persuaded,  and  the  act 
of  committing,  are  the  same  act ;  they  all  mean 
faith.  It  is  to  rest  upon  the  word  and  work  of 
Christ  for  salvation ;  to  depend  upon  his  atonement 
and  righteousness,  and  upon  nothing  else,  for  ac 
ceptance  with  God ;  and  really  to  expect  salva- 
tion, because  he  has  promised  it.  If  there  be  no 
expectation,  there  is  no  faith ;  for  faith  in  a  man's 
promise,  necessarily  implies  expectation  of  its  ful- 
filment. This,  then,  is  faith;  looking  for  or  ex- 
pecting salvation  for  the  sake  of  Christ's  work 
alone,  and  because  God  has  promised  it.  If  you 
want  another  illustration,  take  the  case  of  the  ser- 
pent-bitten Israelites. — Num.  xxi.  4 — 9.  John  iii. 
14.  The  people  who  were  stung  were  commanded 
to  look  on  tlie  brazen  serpent.  Those  who  really 
believed  the  promise  that  such  an  act  would  be  fol- 
S 


86  TAITH. 

lowed  whh  healing,  went  out  and  looked  at  the 
appointed  means  of  relief:  their  looking  was  their 
believing ;  and  what  did  that  look  imply  ?  Ex- 
pectation. They  who  did  not  look  did  not  expect 
healing,  and  they  who  did  look  expected  relief.  If 
therefore  you  are  not  brought  to  expect  salvation, 
you  do  not  believe,  for  as  soon  as  you  really  be- 
lieved, you  would  indulge  the  expectation  of  salva- 
tion. "Faith  is  the  substance  (or  confident  ex- 
pectation) of  things  hoped  for."  Expectation  of 
salvation  for  Christ's  sake  alone,  and  because  he 
has  promised  it,  being  faith,  faith  may  be  said  to 
be  weak  or  strong  in  proportion  as  our  expectation 
is  more  or  less  confident,  and  frefe  from  doubts  and 
fears. 

3.  But  WHEN  is  a  sinner  to  believe  ?  Strange 
question  !  And  yet  one  that  it  is  necessary  to  an- 
swer, because  it  is  sometimes  asked.  Suppose  if 
when  you  promised  alms  to  a  poor  starving  beggar, 
or  forgiveness  to  a  person  that  had  injured  you, 
either  of  these  persons  were  to  ask,  "  When  am  I 
to  believe  your  promise,"  would  you  not  feel  some 
surprise  at  the  question  ?  The  very  nature  of  the 
case  suggests  the  propriety  and  necessity  of  imme- 
diate faith.  Your  veracity  is  as  great  at  that 
moment  as  it  ever  will  be,  and  therefore  demands 
instant  confidence.  Suppose  the  beggar  were  to 
say,  "  I  do  not  yet  sufficiently  feel  my  poverty,  to 
believe  you  now,  but  when  I  am  more  pinched  with 
hunger,  I  will  take  you  at  your  word  and  come.'* 


FAITH.  87 

Would  not  this  be  exceedingly  preposterous  ?  And 
yet  this  is  the  very  conduct  of  many  persons  in 
reference  to  Christ,  and  faith  in  him  for  salvation. 
They  know  that  trust  in  him  alone  is  necessary  to 
salvation;  that  they  must  at  length  come;  but 
they  seem  to  regard  it  rather  as  an  exercise  or  state 
of  mind,  to  which  they  are  to  be  brought  at  some 
future  time,  and  by  some  means  they  know  not 
how,  than  as  a  duty  to  be  immediately  performed. 
Their  inward  feeling  is,  a  hope  that  they  shall 
have  faith  some  time  or  other,  "without  ever  once 
imagining  that  they  are  required  at  once,  and  with- 
out delay,  to  commit  their  soul  to  Christ. 

Do,  Reader,  reflect  upon  this  matter,  this  neces- 
sity of  instantly  believing.  Are  you  now  a  sin- 
ner ?  You  know  you  are.  Can  you  do  any  thing 
now  or  hereafter  to  save  yourself?  You  know 
you  cannot.  Is  Christ  now  a  Saviour,  able  and 
willing  to  save  you  nov:  7  You  know  he  is.  Will 
he  be  more  able  or  willing  to  save  you  a  month,  or 
a  year  hence,  than  he  is  at  this  moment?  Cer- 
tainly not.  Does  he  say,  "  come  unto  me,  not  now, 
but  at  sotne  future  time  ;  believe  me,  but  not  yet ; 
trust  in  me  after  awhile?"  You  know  he  does 
not.  Every  invitation,  every  promise,  every  en- 
couragement, relates  to  the  present  moment.  The 
words  of  scripture  are,  "  To-day  if  ye  will  hear  his 
voice  harden  not  your  hearts.  Now  is  the  accepted 
time,  NOW  is  the  day  of  salvation.  Come,  for  all 
things  are  ready.     He  is  waiting  to  be  gracious," 


88  FAITH. 

What  prevents,  but  that  you  now,  as  you  read  this, 
believe  in  Christ  1  What  hinders  you,  except  your 
own  unwillingness,  from  this  moment  trusting  in 
the  Lord  Jesus  for  salvation?  What  now,  you. 
say,  still  startled  at  the  idea  of  instantly  taking  to 
your  anxious  bosom  the  sweet  and  soothing  hope 
of  salvation.  "  Why  not  now  ?"  I  ask.  "  Would 
God,"  you  are  ready  to  say,  "  I  could,  for  I  have 
no  peace  of  mind  :  I  feel  that  I  am  a  sinner,  and 
yet  am  distressed  at  times,  that  I  do  not  feel  this 
enough.  I  am  agitated  and  peq^lexed,  for  I  have 
no  reason  to  hope  my  sins  are  forgiven.  I  cannot 
approach  God  as  a  reconciled  Father ;  on  the  con- 
trary I  am  afraid  of  him,  and  fear  if  I  were  to  die, 
I  should  not  meet  him  in  peace." 

Permit  me  here  to  remind  you,  tnat  you  never 
can  be  at  peace  till  you  have  faith ;  peace  is  the 
fruit,  and,  let  me  tell  you,  it  is  ihe  first  fruit  of 
faith.  Observe  what  the  apostle  has  said :  "  In 
whom  though  now  ye  see  him  not,  yet  believing,  ye 
rejoice  with  joy  unspeakable  and  full  of  glory." 
1  Pet.  i.  8.  It  is  said  of  the  Philippian  jailer,  "he 
rejoiced,  believing  in  God."  Acts  xxi.  34.  You 
never  can  have  settled  peace  of  mind,  except  it  be 
a  false  peace,  till  you  believe  in  Christ :  you  are 
seeking  it  in  various  ways,  and  occasionally  obtain 
a  short  pause  to  your  solicitude,  by  prayer,  by 
hearing  sermons,  by  dwelling  on  what  you  suppose 
are  evidences  of  your  conversion,  by  fully  pur- 
posing to  leave  off  your  sins,  and  to  serve  God 


more  entirely.  But  notwithstanding  all  this,  you 
are  not  in  possession  of  settled  comfort.  Your  joy 
is  more  like  an  occasional  flash  from  a  taper  in  a 
dark  night,  than  steady  sunshine :  so  that  some- 
times you  are  ready  to  give  up  religion  altogether, 
and  turn  back  again  to  the  world  ;  for  you  seem  to 
be  as  far  from  comfort  as  ever.  But  stop,  and  ask 
this  question,  "  Am  I  seeking  peace  in  the  right 
way  ?  Have  I  ever  yet  really,  fully,  and  entirely 
believed  in  Christ  ?  Have  I  truly  committed  my 
soul  to  him,  and  expected  salvation  according  to  his 
promise?"  No:  for  if  you  had,  you  would  not 
now  have  been  in  your  present  state  of  agitation. 
What  is  to  give  peace  to  a  sinner  feeling  the  burden 
of  guilt  upon  his  conscience '? — What  is  to  relieve 
him  from  his  distress  1  Nothing  but  faith  in 
Christ ;  not  the  faith  itself,  but  the  object  which 
fiaith  looks  at,  which  is  Christ.  Many  are  saying, 
"  if  I  did  but  know  that  I  had  faith ;  or  if  I  could 
feel  my  faith  stronger,  I  could  then  rejoice."  But 
this  is  seeking  peace  in  faith  itself,  instead  of  seek- 
ing it  by  faith  in  Christ.  Faith  is  not  our  Saviour, 
but  only  the  eye  that  looks  to  him,  the  foot  that 
goes  to  him,  the  hand  that  receives  him.  Take  an 
illustration : — Imagine  that  you  were  afflicted  with 
some  dangerous  disease,  and  anxious  for  recovery ; 
in  the  midst  of  your  solicitude,  and  after  trying  all 
kinds  of  remedies  without  effect,  a  physician  comes 
in,  and  says,  "I  have  brought  you  an  infallible 
cure  for  your  complaint ;  it  has  cured  thousands, 
8-^ 


M  FAITH. 

and  will  most  certainly  cure  j/OM."  What  would 
be  the  effect  of  this  communication  upon  you? 
Just  according  to  the  state  of  your  mind  in  reference 
to  the  report  which  the  physician  gives  of  his 
medicine.  If  your  anxiety  about  recovery,  and 
your  fear  of  a  cure,  were  greater  than  your  faith 
you  would  gain  no  peace ;  the  want  of  confidence 
in  the  medicine  would  keep  you  in  deep  solicitude. 
But  suppose  you  were  to  believe  the  statement  of 
your  medical  friend,  and  had  full  confidence  in  the 
remedy,  what  then  would  be  the  effect  of  the  re- 
port ?  You  would  immediately  rejoice  ;  you  would 
not  wait  till  you  had  taken  the  medicine,  and  till 
you  felt  yourself  cured,  before  your  solicitude  was 
relieved;  nOj  but  as  soon  as  you  believed  in  the 
eflScacy  of  the  remedy,  you  would  say,  "Joyful 
news,  I  am  to  be  healed,  and  restored  to  health." 
Now  what  in  this  case  relieves  you  from  your 
solicitude,  and  gives  you  comfort?  The  state- 
ment of  your  friend,  or  in  other  words,  faith  in  that 
statement.  The  glad  news  of  a  coming  cure,  be- 
lieved by  you,  makes  you  glad.  It  is  not  the  act 
of  believing  that  you  rejoice  in,  but  the  statement 
believed.  You  would  immediately  take  the  medi- 
cine ;  and  then  when  you  experienced  its  healing 
influence,  you  would  rejoice  still  more.  Your  joy 
in  this  case  would  be  of  two  kinds :  the  first  is  the 
joy  of  faith,  in  the  assurance  that  you  would  be 
cured;  the  second  is  the  joy  of  ea>perience,  in  find- 
ing that  you  are  cured. 


FAITH.  91 

Apply  this  to  the  case  of  a  sinner  who  feels  his 
miserable  condition  under  the  power  and  guilt  of 
sin.  In  his  anxiety  he  tries  various  methods  to 
obtain  relief:  he  leaves  off  sin,  and  tries  to  be  good ; 
but  a  sense  of  unpardoned  sin  still  lies  upon  his 
heart,  and  he  is  far  off  from  settled  comfort.  In 
this  situation,  Christ,  the  physician  of  souls,  comes 
to  him  in  the  message  of  the  gospel,  and  says,  "  My 
blood  cleanseth  from  all  sin,  and  my  Spirit  can  re- 
new and  sanctify  the  hardest  and  most  polluted 
heart ;  look  to  me,  and  thou  shalt  be  saved."  What 
is  the  duty  of  the  sinner  in  this  case  ?  immediately 
and  fully  to  believe,  and  at  once,  as  the  evidence 
and  necessary  fruit  of  his  faith,  to  rejoice.  If  he 
really  does  believe,  he  will  rejoice  ,  and  if  he  do 
not  rejoice,  it  is  because  he  does  not  believe.  He 
is  not  to  wait  till  he  is  saved,  before  he  takes  com- 
fort, but  he  is  to  take  comfort  in  the  first  place,  in 
believing  that  there  is  a  Saviour,  and  that  he  may 
be  saved.  He  is  not  to  wait  for  his  comfort  till  he 
feels  that  he  is  justified,  renewed,  and  sanctified; 
for  how  can  he  come  to  this  state  unless  he  be- 
lieves ?  His  first  comfort  must  be  the  joy  of  faith ; 
and  this  he  must  take  to  himself  at  once;  the  joy 
of  experience  comes  afterward.  He  must  first  re- 
joice in  the  promise  of  spiritual  healing,  and  then 
afterwards  he  will  rejoice  in  the  sense  of  healing. 
When  the  Jews  who  were  pricked  to  the  heart  by 
Peter's  sermon,  cried  out  in  agony,  "  What  shall 
we  do?"     He  replied,''*' Repent,  and  be  baptized. 


98  FAITH. 

every  one  of  you,  in  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ,  for 
the  remission  of  sins :  then  they  that  gladly  received 
the  word  were  baptized."  Acts  ii.  37 — 41.  They 
gladly  received  the  word,  i.  e.  they  believed  the 
promise,  and  were  made  glad.  Here  was  immedi 
ate  faith,  producing  instant  joy :  they  did  not  wai 
till  they  felt  they  were  saved,  but  rejoiced  at  once 
Now  observe  another  case : — Paul,  in  one  of  his 
Epistles,  says,  "  Our  rejoicing  is  this,  that  in  sim- 
plicity and  godly  sincerity,  not  with  fleshly  wisdom, 
but  by  the  grace  of  God,  we  have  had  our  conver- 
sation in  the  world." — 2  Cor.  i.  12.  Here  is  the 
joy  of  experience.  It  is  the  peace  of  believing, 
that  the  enquirer  has  to  do  with ;  and  is  it  not 
cause  enough  of  delight  that  God  has  loved  the 
world,  and  you,  as  a  part  of  the  world,  so  as  to  give 
his  Son  for  your  salvation  ;  that  you  are  invited  ; 
that  Christ  is  able  and  willing  to  save  you.  But 
still  you  cling  to  the  idea,  if  you  could  be  sure  you 
believed,  you  would  be  comforted ;  if  you  had  evi- 
dence of  faith,  you  would  take  peace.  Then  it 
would  be  these  evidences  that  would  comfort  you, 
and  not  the  work  of  Christ. 

It  is  also  of  importance,  that  you  should  clearly 
understand  that  you  are  never  in  a  state  of  faith  if 
you  are  not  brought  to  some  degree  of  comfort ;  if 
you  still  feel  the  loa(J  of  guilt  upon  your  conscience, 
and  all  its  tormenting  fears  in  your  mind ;  if  you 
are  still  anxiously  asking  the  question,  "  What 
shall  I  do  to  be  saved  V  if  you  are  still  afraid  of 


FAITH.  93 

God  ;  if  you  still  are  without  any  hope  of  forgive- 
ness, you  do  not  believe ;  for  genuine  faith,  even 
though  it  were  not  a  full  assurance,  would  in  some 
measure  relieve  you  from  this  anxiety.  It  is  very 
common  for  persons  to  say  they  believe,  and  yet 
have  no  comfort ;  and  then  they  are  asking,  "  Why 
am  I  not  at  peace  ?"  Because  you  really  do  not 
believe  in  Christ ;  you  are  deceiving  yourself.  It 
is  faith,  genuine  faith,  you  want;  you  have  not  yet 
really  trusted  in  Christ;  you  have  not  believed  the 
glad  tidings  of  salvation  ;  for  can  any  man  believe 
glad  tidings  concerning  himself,  and  yet  not  be 
made  glad  by  them?  Believe  then,  believe  truly, 
believe  now,  and  enter  into  peace. 

5* 


CHAPTER    VI. 


MISTAKES  rNTO  WHICH  ENftUIRERS  ARE  APT  TO  FALL. 

In  an  affair  of  such  tremendous  consequence  as 
the  salvation  of  the  soul,  it  is  important  that  every 
error  of  any  moment  into  which  Enquirers  are  in 
danger  of  falling,  should  be  clearly  pointed  out  to 
them.  Satan  is  called  the  Father  of  lies,  and 
when  his  delusive  influence  is  added  to  the  natural 
deceitfulness  of  the  human  heart,  the  danger  of 
mistake  is  great  indeed.  Our  caution  against 
errors,  should,  of  course,  be  in  proportion  to  the 
importance  qf  the  consequences  they  draw  after 
them.  Oh  how  awful  is  the  idea  of  committing  a 
fundamental  error  in  religious  matters,  and  perse- 
vering in  that  error  till  death  ;  we  shall  then  have 
eternity  to  deplore  it,  but  never  a  moment  to  correct 
it.  Oh  how  dreadful  to  die  and  find  ourselves  mis- 
taken as  to  our  character  and  destiny.  But  even 
where  the  error  is  not  of  so  serious  a  nature,  it  may 
still  be  the  source  of  much  disquietude.  ^ 

1.  The  first  error,  and  it  is  both  a  very  common 
and  a  very  dreadful  one,  which  enquirers  are  in 
danger  of  committing,  is  to  mistake  knowledge. 


MISTAKES.  96 

impression,  and  partial  reformation,  for  genuine 
conversion.  In  this  day  of  prevailing  evangelical 
preaching,  and  religious  instruction,  when  there  is 
no  persecution  to  try  men's  sincerity,  and  even 
much  credit  attaching  to  a  profession  of  religion, 
there  is  most  imminent  danger  of  self-delusion. 
The  preaching  of  the  present  day  is  of  an  exciting 
and  impressive  character,  which,  added  to  the  ten- 
dency of  a  religious  education  to  give  knowledge, 
is  very  likely  to  produce  a  state  of  feeling  that  may 
be  mistaken  for  conversion.  Ignorant  friends,  anx- 
ious parents,  and  even  injudicious  ministers,  who 
are  too  eager  to  swell  the  number  of  their  com- 
municants, upon  perceiving  a  little  impression  of 
mind  and  a  little  alteration  of  conduct  in  young 
people,  or  in  others,  may  express  a  favourable 
opinion  of  their  conversion,  flatter  them  into  a  belief 
that  they  are  safe,  engage  them  too  hastily  to  join 
the  church,  and  receive  the  Lord's  Supper,  while 
at  the  same  time,  perhaps,  the  great  change  has 
never  been  wrought ;  and  thus  the  soul  is  in  all 
probability  sealed  up  in  delusion  to  eternal  perdi- 
tion. Nothing  can  now  awaken  them ;  for  although 
their  impressions  die  away,  and  they  become  almost 
as  careless,  as  worldly,  as  sinful  as  ever ;  yet  they 
have  taken  up  a  profession  of  religion,  have  been 
led  to  believe  they  are  Christians,  and  therefore 
repress  every  rising  fear,  and  stifle  every  incipient 
alarm.  Fatal  case,  and  it  is  the  case  of  multitudes. 
It  may  be  worth  while  to  set  before  you  how  far 


M  MISTAKES. 

persons  may  go,  and  not  be  really  converted. 
They  may  have^many  and  deep  impressions,  many 
and  strong  convictions ;  they  may  have  much  know- 
ledge of  their  sinful  state,  and  a  heavy  and  bur- 
densome sense  of  their  guilt ;  they  may  look  back 
upon  their  past  lives  and  conduct  with  much  re- 
morse ;  they  may  be  sorry  for  their  sins ;  and  may 
desire  to  be  saved  from  the  consequences  of  them, 
being  much  alarmed  at  the  prospect  of  the  torments 
of  hell.  Was  not  Judas  convinced  of  sin,  and  did 
he  not  weep  bitterly  and  confess  his  sin,  and  was 
he  not  filled  with  remorse  ?  Was  not  Cain  con- 
vinced of  sin  ?  I  have  known  many  persons,  who, 
at  one  time,  appeared  to  be  more  deeply  impressed 
with  a  sense  of  sin,  and  to  have  stronger  convic- 
tions and  remorse  than  those  who  were  truly  con- 
verted, and  yet  they  went  back  again  to  the  world 
and  sin.  Nor  is  a  detestation  of  sin  always  a  sign 
of  true  conversion.  Hazael,  before  he  was  King 
of  Syria,  detested  those  very  crimes,  which  he 
afterwards  perpetrated  in  the  fulness  of  his  pride 
and  power.  Unconverted  persons  may  even  wish 
toie  delivered  from  the  fetters  of  those  corrupt 
lusts,  which  have  long  held  them  fast.  There  are 
few  notorious  sinners,  who  do  not  frequently  hate 
their  sins,  and  wish  and  purpose  to  reform.  Yea, 
persons  may  sometimes  desire  to  be  delivered  from 
all  sin  ;  at  least  they  may  desire  it  in  a  certain  way, 
because  they  think  that  it  is  necessary  in  order  to 
be  saved  from  hell.    And  as  conviction  of  sin  may 


.^k 


MISTAKES.  9T 

exist  without  conversion,  so  may  religious  joy. 
'  The  stony  ground  hearers  heard  the  word,  and 
with  joy  received  it," — Matthew  xiii.  20.  and  yet 
they  had  no  root  in  themselves,  and  endured  only 
for  awhile.  The  Galatians  had  great  blessedness 
atone  time,  which  the  apostle  was  afraid  had  come 
to  nothing. — Gal.  iv.  15.  Multitudes  rejoiced  in 
Christ  when  he  made  his  entrance  into  Jerusalem, 
who  afterwards  became  his  enemies.  A  person 
may  admire  the  people  of  God,  and  covet  to  be  of 
their  number,  as  Balaam  did,  and  yet  not  really  be- 
long to  them.  Many  take  great  pleasure  in  hearing 
sermons,  and  going  to  prayer  meetings,  and  singing 
hymns,  and  frequenting  missionary  and  other  public 
meetings,  who  are  not  truly  born  of  the  Spirit.  So 
also  do  many  persons  leave  off  sinful  actions,  and 
give  up  many  wicked  practices,  and  seem  to  be 
quite  altered  for  a  time,  who  yet,  by  their  subse- 
quent history,  show  that  they  are  not  converted. 
There  may  be  considerable  zeal  for  the  outward 
concerns  of  religion,  as  we  see  in  Jehu,  without 
any  right  state  of  mind  towards  God.  Many  have 
liad  great  confidence  of  the  reality  of  their  conver- 
sion ;  they  have  had  dreams,  impressions,  and  an 
inward  wftness,  as  they  suppose,  who  too  plainly 
proved  by  their  after  conduct,  that  they  were  under 
an  awful  delusion.  But  it  would  be  almost  end- 
less to  point  out  the  various  ways  in  which  men 
deceive  themselves,  as  to  their  state.  Millions 
who  have  been  somewhat,  yea,  much  concerned 
9 


98  MISTAKES. 

about  religion,  have  never  been  born  again  of  the 
Spirit.  More  are  lost  by  self-deception,  than  by 
any  other  means.  Hell  resounds  with  the  groans 
and  lamentations  of  souls  that  perished  through 
the  power  of  a  deceived  heart. 

Do,  do  examine  yourselves.  Exercise  godly 
jealousy  over  your  own  state.  Never  forget  that 
nothing  short  of  the  new  birth  will  save  you. 
"  Except  a  man  be  born  of  water  and  of  the  Spirit, 
he  can  never  enter  into  the  kingdom  of  heaven." 
— John  iii.  "  If  any  man  be  in  Christ  he  is  a  new 
creature  ;  old  things  are  passed  away  ;  behold 
all  thingn  are  become  new." — 2  Cor.  v.  7.  The 
very  nature  must  be  changed,  entirely  changed. 
We  must  be  renewed  in  the  spirit  of  our  mind. 
There  must  be  a  superhuman,  a  divine,  a  total 
alteration  of  disposition.  Our  views  and  tastes, 
our  pains  and  pleasures,  hopes  and  fears,  desires 
and  pursuits,  must  be  changed.  We  must  be 
brought  to  love  God  supremely,  both  for  his  holi- 
ness and  justice,  as  well  as  for  his  mercy  and  love 
in  Christ ;  to  delight  in  him  for  his  transcendent 
glory,  as  well  as  for  his  rich  grace  :  we  must  have 
a  ftferception  of  the  beauties  of  holiness,  and  love 
divine  things  for  their  own  excellence :  we  must 
mourn  for  sin,  and  hate  it  for  its  own  evil  nature, 
as  well  as  its  dreadful  punishment :  we  must  feel 
delight  in  the  salvation  of  Christ,  not  only  because 
it  delivers  us  from  hell,  but  makes  us  like  God,  and 
all  this  in  a  way  that  honours  and  glorifies  Jeho- 


•# 


MISTAKES.  M 

vah :  we  must  be  made  partakers  of  true  humility, 
and  universal  love,  and  feel  ourselves  brought  to 
be  of  one  mind  with  God  in  willing  and  delighting 
in  the  happiness  of  others :  we  must  be  brought  to 
feel  an  identity  of  heart  with  God's  cause,  and  to 
regard  it  as  our  honour  and  happiness  to  do  any 
thing  to  promote  the  glory  of  Christ  in  the  salva- 
tion of  sinners :  we  must  feel  a  longing  desire,  a 
hungering  and  thirsting  after  holiness,  as  well  as  a 
disposition  to  put  away  all  sins,  however  gainful  or 
pleasant :  we  must  have  a  tender  conscience  that 
shrinks  from,  and  watches  against  little  sins,  secret 
faults,  and  sins  of  neglect  and  omission,  as  well 
as  great  and  scandalous  offences  :  we  must  love 
the  people  of  God,  for  God's  sake,  because  they 
belong  to  him  and  are  like  him ;  we  must  practise 
the  self-denying  duty  of  mortification  of  sin,  as  well 
as  engage  in  the  pleasing  exercises  of  religion. 
This  is  to  be  born  again ;  it  is  no  mere  transient 
impression  upon  the  imagination,  but  it  is  a  per- 
manent renewal  of  the  disposition;  it  is  not  an 
occasional  impulse,  but  an  abiding  character ;  the 
subject  of  it  may  not  be  violently  agitated,  but  he 
is  lastingly  altered  ;  his  passions  may  not  be  power- 
fully moved,  but  his  principles,  tastes,  and  pursuits, 
are  engaged  on  the  side  of  true  holiness.  He  is 
now  a  spiritual  man,  whereas  he  was  a  carnal  one, 
and  all  things  are  by  him  spiritually  discerned. 
Nothing  short  of  this  entire  change  of  heart,  this 
complete  renovation  of  the  nature,  must  satisfy  you ; 


100  MISTAKES. 

for  nothing  less  than  such  a  view  of  Christ  in  his 
glorious  mediatorial  character,  and  such  a  depend- 
ance  by  faith  upon  his  blood  and  righteousness  for 
salvation,  as  changes  the  whole  heart,  and  temper, 
and  conduct ;  throws  the  world  as  it  were  into  the 
back  ground,  and  makes  glory  hereafter,  and  holi- 
ness now,  the  supreme  concern, — is  religion. 

2.  Enquirers  are  often  in  error  on  the  subject  of 
their  immediate  obligation  to  believe  and  go  to 
Christ ;  and  are  waitings  as  they  say,  for  a  day 
of  power  at  the  pool  of  ordinances.*  They  are 
seeking  and  praying,  but  they  have  no  idea  that  it 
is  their  present  duty,  without  waiting  another 
hour,  to  give  themselves  to  Christ.  They  are  ex- 
pecting some  sensible  impression,  or  impulse  upon 
their  mind,  to  make  known  to  them  when  it  is 
their  duty  to  believe,  and  also  enable  them  to  be- 
lieve. They  suppose  it  will  be  made  clear  to  them 
as  it  was  to  the  cripples  by  the  troubling  of  the 
Avaters,  that  they  are  no  longer  to  wait,  but  then  to 
descend  into  the  pool  of  salvation. 

Now  this  is  a  most  grievous  and  injurious  error, 
and  keeps  many  minds  for  a  long  period  in  great 
distress,  and  actually  prevents  some  from  coming 
to  Christ  at  all.  I  must  first  tell  you,  that  it  is  an 
utter  perversion  of  scripture,  to  consider  the  pool 

♦  There  is  in  this  chapter  a  repetition  of  some  of  the  ideas 
and  even  expressions  contaiaed  in  a  former  section,  but  it 
is  on  a  subject  of  so  much  importance  that  I  do  not  choose 
to  suppress  them. 


MISTAKES.  101 

of  Bethesda  as  an  emblem  of  the  healing  of  sinners 
by  the  work  of  Christ ;  and  the  situation  of  the 
diseased  persons  waiting  for  the  healing  visit  of  the 
angel,  as  descriptive  of  the  duty  of  sinners  to  wait 
for  some  impulse  orpower  from  above,  before  they 
believe.  The  fact  was  related  merely  to  show  the 
power  and  glory  of  Christ  in  working  a  miracu- 
lous cure.  Where  in  all  the  New  Testament  are 
sinners  told  to  wait  till  some  future  time,  before 
they  believe  ?  Where  is  it  said,  "  Believe,  but  not 
now:"  hope,  but  not  now:  wait  for  some  power  or 
impulse  to  enable  you  to  believe.  On  the  contrary, 
is  it  not  said,  "  To  day  if  ye  will  hear  his  voice 
harden  not  your  hearts,  Now  is  the  accepted  time, 
now  is  the  day  of  salvation  ?"  Is  not  God  willing 
to  pardon  you  this  moment ;  Christ  willing  to  save 
you  this  moment;  the  Spirit  waiting  to  renew  and 
sanctify  you  this  moment?  Are  not  all  the  pro- 
mises true  Jiow,  all  the  blessings  of  salvation  ready 
and  waiting  for  your  acceptance  now  7  What  then 
are  you  waiting  for,  or  why  should  you  wait  at  all  ? 
Could  a  voice  froin  heaven,  or  any  impulse  in  your 
own  hearts,  make  it  more  certain  than  the  word  of 
God  makes  it,  that  Christ  is  willing  to  save  yoa  ? 
Look  steadily  at  this  promise,  "  Come  unto  me  all 
ye  that  labour  and  I  will  give  you  rest."  Is  that 
the  language  of  Christ  1  Yes.  Is  it  true  1~  Yes. 
Does  it  say  any  thing  about  waiting  for  impulse  ? 
No.  What  then  are  you  hesitating  about  1  It  is 
as  true  this  moment  as  it  ever  will  or  can  be,  and 
9* 


lot  MISTAKES. 

if  you  wait  for  any  thing  else  but  the  word  of 
Christ,  you  will  spend  all  your  time  in  waiting, 
and  die  deceived  at  last.  True,  you  need  the  in- 
fluence of  the  Spirit  to  assist  you  to  believe,  but 
that  influence  is  always  as  ready  as  the  work  of 
Christ. 

But,  say  others,  "  we  are  waiting  to  be  more 
deeply  convinced  of  sin."  Are  you  convinced  that 
you  are  under  the  condemnation  of  the  law  ;  such  a 
sinner  as  to  be  totally  depraved  in  your  nature,  as 
well  as  guilty  of  innumerable  actual  sins,  and  de- 
serving of  hell  ?  Is  this  clear  to  your  judgment, 
and  really  felt  by  your  conscience ;  then  what  are 
you  waiting  for  7  If  you  say,  for  more  sorrow  of 
heart,  more  pungent  convictions,  I  would  ask  again, 
how  deep  do  you  suppose  your  convictions  must 
be,  before  you  believe  in  Christ,  and  hope  for  mercy  ? 
Can  you  fix  on  any  standard  on  this  subject  ?  Be- 
sides, do  you  suppose  that  if  your  convictions  were 
ten  times  as  deep  as  they  now  are,  that  these  feel- 
ings of  yours  would  be  your  warrant  to  go  to 
Christ,  or  render  you  more  welcome  to  Him,  or  be 
in  any  measure  your  ground  of  hope  ?  Are  you 
not  wishing  for  deep  convictions,  to  take  comfort 
in  them,  instead  of  Christ  ?  Has  Christ  any  where 
said,  he  will  not  receive  you  till  your  convictions 
have  attained  to  a  certain  depth  1  The  question  is, 
are  you  really  convinced  ?  not  how  deeply  are  you 
convinced.  And  then,  as  to  godly  sorrow,  this  will 
be  promoted  by  faith.    "  They  shall  look  on  me 


% 


MISTAKES.  103 

whom  they  have  pierced,  and  mourn,"  says  the 
Lord  Jesus,  concerning  the  Jews.  Zech.  xii.  10. 
The  belief  of  God's  love  to  us  in  Christ,  the  sweet 
hope  of  his  mercy  Avill  melt  the  heart  to  tender- 
ness. I  wish  you  to  dwell  upon  this.  It  is  the 
hope,  the  sense  of  God's  love,  that  warms  and 
thaws  the  cold  and  frozen  heart  of  man.  As  you 
gaze  upon  a  crucified  Redeemer  by  faith ;  as  you 
hear  God  say,  "  I,  even  I,  am  he  that  blotteth  out 
thy  sins  by  the  blood  of  my  Son,  I  will  forgive  ihee 
all,  notwithstanding  thy  rebellion,  and  thy  too 
great  lukewarmness,"  your  soul  will  dissolve  in 
ingenuous  grief  and  love.  In  keeping  back  from 
Christ ;  in  waiting  for  deeper  emotions,  before  you 
come  to  him,  you  are  defeating  your  own  purpose. 
The  more  and  sooner  you  hope  in  Christ,  the 
sooner  and  more  will  you  mourn  for  sin.  Every 
fresh  view  you  take  of  his  cross,  when  you  are  in- 
dulging an  expectation  of  mercy,  will  deepen  your 
emotions  of  sorrow,  and  your  convictions  of  the 
evil  of  sin.  All  the  sensibilities  of  your  heart  will 
be  moved  by  the  amazing  spectacle ;  and  that  very 
scene  which  conveys  to  your  soul  the  sense  of 
pardon,  will  convey  also  a  sense  of  the  bitterness 
of  transgression.  Wait  no  longer  then ;  believe, 
believe  now  ;  commit  your  soul  at  once  to  the 
Saviour,  and  rejoice  in  hope  of  salvation. 

Others  are  waiting  for  more  holiness,  for  some 
preparatory  process,  before  they  rest  upon  Christ 
for  eternal   life.     A   preparatory   process   indeed 


104  >       MISTAKES. 

there  is,  and  must  be,  carried  on  in  the  heart  before 
the  sinner  will  go  to  Christ.  But  what  is  that 
process  7  Nothing  which  is  to  prevent  his  soul 
for  a  moment,  when  he  is  anxious  about  salvation, 
from  dependmg  upon  Christ.  It  is  the  work  of  the 
Holy  Spirit  giving  him  a  sense  of  his  sin,  and  a 
desire  to  flee  from  the  wrath  to  come.  But  in  the 
case  of  those  whom  I  am  addressing,  I  mean  those 
who  are  anxious  about  salvation,  this  is  already 
done  ;  they  are  convinced  of  sin,  and  desirous  to 
flee  from  impending  judgment.  What  more  is  ne- 
cessary tp  prepare  them  to  believe  in  Christ  ?  But 
what  is  meant  by  those  who  talk  thus,  is,  that  there 
must  be  a  long  course  of  conviction  ;  a  production 
and  growth  of  holy  affections ;  a  series  of  holy 
actions ;  an  expansion  of  religious  kno\yledge  ;  and 
that  then,  and  not  till  then,  sinners  are  encouraged 
to  trust  in  Christ,  and  hope  for  salvation.  Now  it 
is  very  tnje  that  every  sinner  in  coming  to  Christ  by 
faith,  iQugt  be  prepaiad  and  ready  to  give  up  every 
sin ;  he  must  be  willing  to  sacrifice  sins  that  may 
be  as  pleasant  as  a  right  eye,  and  as  useful  as  a 
right  hand  ;  he  must  be  willing  to  take  up  his  cross 
and  follow  Christ  to  bonds,  iraprisonmept,  and 
death  ;  he  must  consider  himself  as  "  called  unto 
holiness ;"  and  this  is  his  state  of  mind,  as  soon 
as  he  is  really  convinced  of  sin  :  what  more  in  the 
way  of  preparation  for  pardon  does  he  need  ?  Is 
not  a  man  prepared  for  forgiveness,  as  soon  as  he 
is  aware  of  his  transgression  ?    If  a  father  promise 


MISTAKES.  105 

pardon  to  an  offending  child  as  soon  as  he  con- 
fesses his  fault,  has  that  child  any  need  to  say,  "  I 
Avill  prepare  myself  for  pardon  by  a  long  course  of 
future  good  conduct  ?"  His  father  is  ready  to  for- 
give him,  and  he  of  course  is  ready  to  be  forgiven, 
upon  the  very  first  moment  of  true  penitence.  If 
God  had  said  he  would  not  pardon  us,  till  months 
or  years  of  good  conduct  had  taken  place,  it  would 
have  been  only  mocking  us ;  for  what  good  conduct 
can  we  perform  till  he  has  received  us  into  his 
favour,  and  bestowed  upon  us  his  Spirit  ?  The 
first  concern  of  a  sinner  is,  or  should  be,  to  be  par- 
doned ;  the  second,  to  be  holy ;  and  he  should  de- 
sire the  first,  in  order  to  the  second.  It  is  a  radical 
error  to  suppose  that  sanctijication  goes  before 
justification.  We  must  first  be  justified,  before 
we  can  be  sanctified.  Mark  this  well.  I  repeat 
It,  and  repeat  it  in  capitals,  that  you  may  notice 
and  weigh  it,  we  must  be  justified  before  we  can 
BE  SANCTIFIED.  We  are  justified  by  faith  ;  and 
without  faith  we  cannot  please  God  ;  consequently, 
till  we  believe,  we  can  perform  no  good  works  ; 
and  when  we  believe,  we  are  accepted  of  God. 
Faith,  then,  is  immediately  our  duty,  without  wait- 
ing for  any  preparatory  process.  But,  perhaps,  this 
will  be  made  still  more  plain,  by  a  reference  to 
examples.  Take  then  the  conversions,  or  at  least 
some  of  them  recorded  in  scripture. 

Take  the  case,of  the  penitent  thief.     Luke  xxiii. 
40 — 43.     What  preparatory  process  went   on   in 


1Q6  MISTAKES. 

this  man's  mind,  and  heart,  and  conduct,  beyond 
the  work  of  the  Spirit  in  convincing  him  of  sin? 
He  appears  to  have  thought  of  his  sin,  and  repented 
for  the  first  time,  wlien  he  Avas  crucified  ;  and  al- 
most the  same  moment  believed  in  Christ,  and 
entertained  a  hope  of  mercy. 

Read  the  account  of  the  three  thousand  con- 
verted on  the  day  of  Pentecost.  Acts  ii.  Up  to  the 
time  when  they  heard  Peter's  sermon,  they  were  the 
murderers  of  Christ ;  by  that  sermon  they  were  con- 
vinced of  sin,  and  within  an  hour  after  the  sermon, 
they  were  rejoicing  in  the  assurance  of  pardon. 
Now  what  preparatory  process  was  carried  on  in 
their  hearts,  beyond  the  work  of  the  Spirit  in  con- 
vincing them  of  sin  1 

Consider  the  conversion  of  the  apostle  Paul, 
who  was  a  bloody  persecutor ;  and  a  day  or  two 
after,  not  only  a  pardoned  sinner,  a  baptized  be- 
liever, a  rejoicing  Christian,  but  a  consecrated 
apostle.  What  preparatory  process  in  the  way  of 
long  cherished  convictions,  or  holy  actions,  was 
there  in  him  ?-^Acts  viii. 

Consult  the  narrative  of  the  Philippian  jailer. 
Acts  xvi.  25 — 34.  In  the  same  night  he  was  con- 
vinced of  sin  ;  he  believed  in  Christ ;  he  was  filled 
with  peace  ;  and  was  baptized.  When  in  agony  of 
soul  he  cried  out,  "  what  shall  I  do  to  be  saved  ?" 
his  heaven  inspired  teacher  replied,  "Believe  in  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  thou  shall  be  saved."  The 
apostle  did  not  speak  to  him  of  any  preparatory 


MISTAKES.  lOr 

» 

process,  any  long  course  of  prescribed  duties,  any 
training  for  his  reception  by  Christ,  but  simply 
said,  "  Believe  ;"  and  he  meant,  of  course,  believe 
now;  and  so  the  trembling  penitent  understood 
him,  for  he  believed  at  once,  and  entered  into  peace. 
I  bring  forward  these  instances,  and  almost  all 
the  other  cases  of  conversion  spoken  of  in  the 
New  Testament  are  of  a  similai  nature,  not  to 
prove  that  all  conversions  are  eqinlly  sudden  and 
remarkable,  but  to  prove  this  one  point — that  no 
other  preparation  in  the  sinner's  mmd  is  necessary 
in  order  that  he  should  believe  find  be  justified, 
but  a  real  conviction  oi  sin.  As  soon  as  a  man 
knows  he  is  a  lost  sinner,  that  is,  is  truly  con- 
vinced of  his  state  of  condemnation,  he  is  required 
to  believe  in  Christ,  and  to  hope  for  pardon  ;  he  is 
then  in  a  state,  a  Jit  state  to  receive  it ;  and  more 
over,  he  would  not  be,  and  could  not  be,  more  fit 
by  waiting  ten  years  in  the  most  agonizing  con- 
victions, or  the  most  sacred  performance  of  duty. 
The  sinner  is  condemned,  and  is  any  moment  after 
conviction  in  a  state  to  be  reprieved  ;  and  he  can 
never  begin  to  perform  the  acts  of  a  good  citizen, 
till  he  is  justified.  Faith  is  the  very  first  act  of 
evangelical  obedience,  which  any  one  can  render 
to  God,  and  it  is  the  spring  of  all  others.  We 
never  can  be  holy  till  we  believe  in  Christ ;  and 
therefore  all  ideas  of  preparation  for  coming  to 
Christ  are  erroneous,  arise  from  mistaken  views  of 
the  way  of  a  sinner's  acceptance  with  God,  and  are 


108  MISTAKES. 

generally  to  be  traced  to  a  principle  of  self-right- 
eousness. This,  perhaps,  is  the  case  with  many 
who  will  read  these  pages ;  they  want  to  be  more 
prepared  either  by  convictions,  or  by  holiness,  for 
coming  to  Christ ;  i.  e.  they  want  something  o 
their  own  in  which  to  glory ;  something  to  give 
them  courage  and  confidence  in  approaching  the 
Saviour  ;  something  to  render  them  less  dependent 
on  free,  sovereign  grace ;  something  to  entitle 
them,  if  not  to  salvation,  at  least  to  the  righteous- 
ness of  Christ  as  the  meritorious  cause  of  it. 
Anxious  Enquirers,  you  know  not  the  secret  work- 
ings of  pride  and  self-righteousness  in  your  soul ; 
you  are  not  yet  acquainted  with  the  deceitfulness 
of  the  human  heart;  you  are  ignorant  of  the  arti- 
fices of  Satan,  or  you  would  detect  in  those  long- 
ings after  some  preparatory  process,  a  scheme  of 
the  enemy  of  souls  to  keep  you  from  Christ ;  yes, 
it  is  a  veil  to  hide  from  your  view  the  glory  of  his 
cross,  and  a  stumbling-block  to  hinder  you  from 
approaching  the  fountain  of  life.    Wait  no  longer ; 

"If  you  tarry  till  you're  better, 
You  will  never  come  at  all." 

It  is  of  infinite  consequence  for  you  to  remember, 
that  you  are  received,  not  as  worthy,  but  as  un- 
worthy ;  not  as  favourites,  but  as  those  who  have 
been  enemies ;  not  as  deserving  life  by  your  con- 
victions, but  as  sentenced  to  death  for  your  trans- 
gressions. "  To  him  that  worketh  not,  but  believ- 
eth  on  him  that  justifieth  the  ungodly,  his  faifli  is 


Ik  m 


MISTAKES.  109 

counted  for  righteousness." — Rom.  iv.  5.  Mark 
that  expression,  there  is  a  vast  comprehension  of 
subject  in  it;  it  is  the  key  to  a  correct  knowledge 
of  justification ;  "  believeth  in  him  that  justifieth 
the  UNGODLY."  We  are  justified,  so  far  as  we  are 
concerned,  under  the  character  of  "  ungodly."  If 
then  we  seek  to  make  ourselves  godly  before  we 
come  to  Christ,  and  wish  to  coine  under  that  cha- 
racter, Ave  are  shutting  ourselves  out  from  the 
blessing  of  justification  ;  for  this  is  granted  only  to 
them,  who  consider  themselves  ungodly. 

3.  Another  mistake  into  which  enquirers  fall  in 
the  commencement  of  a  religious  course,  is  to  in- 
dulge in  a  misplaced  solicitude  about  the  evi- 
denced of  personal  religion.  I  am  not  so  unskilful 
in  the  word  of  righteousness,  as  to  be  ignorant 
that  the  sacred  writers  speak  much  and  often  on 
the  subject  of  evidences  of  personal  religion.  But 
a  person  must  have  religion,  before  he  can  possess 
the  evidences  of  it;  and  at  present  your  solicitude 
should  be  rather  to  be  Christians,  than  to  know 
you  are  such.  It  is,  however,  a  very  common 
case  for  persons,  as  soon  as  they  begin  to  be  anxious 
about  religion,  to  begin  also  to  be  anxious  to  find 
out  the  marks  of  salvation  in  themselves.  Hence 
they  are  ever  microscopically  analyzing  all  their 
feelings,  watching  their  motives,  reviewing  their 
conduct ;  sometimes  hoping  when  they  see,  or 
think  they  see,  a  good  mark ;  but  more  generally 
desponding  as  the  result  of  seeing  so  much  that  is 
10 


110  MISTAKES. 

positively  wrong,  or  really  defective  in  the  state 
<>f  their  hearts.  I  wish  you  to  attend  to  this  re- 
mark, "  That  enquirers  after  salvation  should 
be  much  more  occupied  in  looking  to  Christ,  than 
in  logking  into  their  own  hearts  :  and  that  when 
they  do  look  into  themselves,  it  should  be  for  con- 
viction, and  not  for  consolation."  Consider  the 
case  of  the  Israelites  when  bitten  by  the  fiery  ser- 
pents in  the  wilderness.  Moses^  you  know,  was 
ordered  to  make  a  brazen  serpent  and  elevate  it 
upon  a  pole,  and  whosoever  looked  upon  the  bra- 
zen figure  lived.  "  Look  and  live,"  was  the  man- 
date and  promise.  Now  cannot  you  fancy  you 
see  the  poor,  poisoned  creatures,  straining  their 
very  eyes  in  gazing  upon  the  object  appointed  for 
their  healing?  Do  you  think  they  spent  all  their 
time,  or  much  of  their  time,  or  any  of  it,  in  examin- 
ing the  wounds  to  see  if  they  were  healing  ?  Were 
they  so  foolish  as  to  look  off  from  the  means  of 
cure,  to  ascertain  their  progress  in  recovery  ?  No. 
They  would  not  have  taken  their  eye  from  the 
brazen  serpent  to  look  at  a  second  sun,  if  it  had 
been  at  that  time  kindled  on  the  firmament  of  hea- 
ven. Their  eye  was  fixed ;  and  as  they  looked, 
they  felt  their  pain  assuaged  ;  their  fever  cooled ; 
their  health  returning  ;  if  they  looked  off,  they  felt 
in  danger  of  relapse ;  and  in  this  way  they  re- 
covered. Thus  should  it  be  with  the  sinner ;  he 
should  look  to  Jesus:  healing  is  there;  and  .is 
obtained,  not  by  looking  to  see  if  it  is  come,  or  is 


MISTAKES.  m 

coming  ;  the  more  the  mind  is  fixed  on  ^^arist,  the 
more  ciear  its  views  are  oi''  his  meuia  •  work  ; 
the  more  steady  and  fixed  the  eye  of  faith  is  un  the 
cross  of  him  who  was  lifted  up,  that  whosoever 
believeth  should  not  perish  but  have  everlasting 
life,  the  firmer  will  be  the  consciousness  of  the 
soulj  that  it  does  believe,  and  the  more  abundant 
will  be  all  the  fruits  and  evidences  of  faith.  The 
Israelite  had  no  doubt  of  his  healing  as  long  -as  he 
looked  10  the  brazen  serpent,  for  he  felt  it  ^joing 
on ;  nor  will  the  soul  doubt  of  its  acceptance  with 
God,  as  long  as  it  looks  to  Christ.  "  He  that  be- 
lieveth hath  the  witness  in  himself,"  not  orly  of 
the  truth  of  Christifinity,  but  of  his  own  pt  sonal 
religion.  The  way  to  have  evidences  inci  jased, 
is  to  have  faith  increased ;  and  the  way  to  have 
faith  increased,  is  not  by  looking  into  ourselves, 
who  are  the  subjects  of  faith,  but  out  of  ourselves 
to  Christ,  who  is  the  object  of  faith.  Faith  is  the 
mainspring  and  regulator  of  all  the  graces  ;  our 
joy,  our  love,  our  hope,  will  all  be  in  proportion  to 
our  faith  ;  and  our  faith  can  never  be  strengthened 
by  an  anxious  and  constant  poring  over  the  feelings 
of  our  hearts.  Nor  can  our  faith  be  strengthened 
merely  by  determining  to  be  strong  in  faith,  but 
by  an  intelligent  and  increasingly  clear  view  of 
the  person  and  work  of  Christ.  "  How  long,"  said 
David,  "  shall  I  take  counsel  in  my  soul,  having 
sorrow  in  mv  '  --t  daily."  He  tells  us  almost 
immediate        '    ;       -he  got  ri  of  hisfea<;f,  even 


lis  MISTAKES. 

by  looking  away  from  himself  to  God,  "  I  have 
trusted  in  thy  mercy,  I  have  rejoiced  in  thy  sal- 
vation." Psalm  xiii,  2 — 5.  The  first  evidence  of 
faith  is  the  peace  of  mind  that  it  brings  to  the  soul, 
or  the  relief  which  it  affords  from  the  burden  of 
sin  ;  the  next  is  holiness,  but  there  can  be  neither 
peace  nor  holiness  till  there  is  faith.  Many  peo- 
ple, I  apprehend,  are  greatly  deceived  in  their  sup- 
posed object  in  seeking  for  marks  of  conversion,  it 
is  not  evidences  of  faith  they  are  seeking  after,  but 
matter  of  faith  ;  not  evidences  that  they  have  re- 
ceived the  righteousness  of  Christ,  but  evidences 
out  of  which  they  make  a  righteousness  of  their 
own ;  they  want  comfort,  and  instead  of  looking 
for  it  in  Christ,  they  are  looking  for  it  in  them- 
selves. Hence,  when  they  have  found,  or  think 
they  have  found,  a  good  mark  in  themselves,  thev 
rejoice  in  it,  as  those  that  have  found  great  spoil. 
Doubting,  dejected,  and  anxious  sinner,  thou 
hast  been  reading,  thinking,  hearing,  praying,  stri- 
ving, examining,  consulting  books  of  evidences, 
and  lists  of  marks  of  salvation,  enquiring  of  others 
how  they  feel,  and  what  they  conclude  to  be  evi- 
dence of  a  work  of  grace,  and  yet  thou  art  as  far 
from  any  satisfactory  conclusion,  as  ta  thy  state, 
as  ever ;  like  the  beast  in  the  mire,  all  thy  striving 
serves  but  to  sink  thee  deeper  and  deeper.  Now 
then  take  another  plan,  since  thine  own  has  failed, 
and  instead  of  troubling  thyself  about  evidences, 
look  to  Christ;  keep  thine  eye  fixed  on  him ;  me- 


MISTAKES.  113 

ditate  upon  the  divinity  of  his  person ;  the  suffi- 
ciency of  his  atonement;  the  perfection  of  his 
righteousness ;  the  riciies  of  his  grace ;  the  univer- 
sality of  his  invitations.  Look  at  the  object  of 
faith,  the  grounds  of  faith,  the  warrant  of  faith 
the  more  thou  dost  this,  the  stronger  thy  faith  will 
become ;  and  the  stronger  thy  faith  is,  the  greater 
thy  peace  will  be.  Instead  of  labouring  to  love 
Christ,  and  becoming  dejected  that  thou  dost  not 
love  him  more,  take  another  course,  and  dwell 
upon  the  love  of  Christ  to  thee.  Meditate  on  his 
amazing  grace,  his  most  wonderful  compassion, 
not  only  to  the  world  in  genera],  but  to  thee,  as 
part  of  the  world ;  labour  and  pray  to  be  able  to 
comprehend  with  all  saints,  ''  what  is  the  height, 
and  breadth,  and  depth,  and  length  of  the  love  of 
Christ,  which  passeth  knowledge."  This,  this  is 
the  way  to  grow  in  love  to  him,  for  if  we  love  him, 
it  is  because  he  first  loved  us.  It  is  a  great  prin- 
ciple, which  I  am  anxious  to  impress  upon  you, 
that  subjective  religion,  or  in  other  words,  religion 
in  us  is  produced  dnd  sustained  by  fixing  the  mind 
upon  objective  religion,  or  the  facts  and  doctrines 
of  the  word  of  God.  Neither  evidences,  nor  com- 
fort, should  be  sought  directly,  or  on  their  own  ac- 
count, or  as  separate  things,  but  as  the  result  of 
faith.  Take  this  as  an  important  sentiment,  that 
the  subject  of  evidences  belongs  more  to  the  be 
liever,  than  to  the  enquirer  j  to  the  Christian  who 
10* 


114  MISTAKES. 

professes  to  be  already  in  the  way,  and  not  to  the 
anxious  seelcer  after  the  way. 

4.  But  there  is  another  mistake  which  enquirers 
are  apt  to  make,  which,  though  nearly  allied  to 
what  I  have  already  stated,  is  sufiBciently  distinct 
to  justify  a  separate  consideration,  and  that  is  con- 
founding faith  and  assurance.  Faith  is  such  a 
cordial  belief  that  Christ  died  for  sinners,  as  leads 
to  a  dependance  upon  him  for  salvation ;  assurance, 
as  the  word  is  usually  understood  in  religious  dis- 
course, means  a  persuasion  that  I  do  so  believe,  and 
am  in  a  state  of  salvation :  faith  means  a  beliel 
that  Christ  is  willing  to  receive  me;  assurance 
means  conviction  that  he  has  received  me ;  that, 
in  short,  I  am  a  Christian.  Now  it  is  manifest 
that  these  two  are  different  from  each  other ;  one 
of  them,  that  is  faith,  signifying  the  performance 
of  an  action  or  coming  into  a  certain  state;  and 
the  other  the  consciousness  that  I  have  come  into 
that  state.  It  is  also  equally  evident  that  faith 
must  precede  assurance.  We  must  first  believe 
that  Christ  died  for  sinners,  before  we  can  know 
that  we  have  believed.  The  first  simple  act  of 
faith  is  a  belief  that  Christ  died  for  all  sinners,  for 
the  whole  world  ;  the  next  as  arising  out  of  it,  if  it 
be  not  indeed  included  in  it,  is  that  he  died  for  us 
as  a  part  of  the  world.  I  believe,  says  the  sinner, 
who  is  coming  with  confidence  to  Christ,  that  Grod 
so  loved  the  world  as  to  give  his  only  begotten 
Son,  that  whosoever  believed  on  him  should  not 


MISTAKES.  115 

perish,  but  have  everlasting  life :  then  as  I  am  a 
part  of  the  world,  I  believe  he  loved  me,  and  is 
w^illing  to  save  me:  this  is  faith.  The  soul  then 
feels  joy  and  peace  in  believing,  love  to  God,  gra- 
titude to  Christ,  hatred  of  sin,  subjugation  of  the 
world,  fellowship  with  the  righteous ;  now  says 
the  person,  "  I  know  I  believe,  I  am  conscious  both 
of  the  act  of  believing,  and  also  of  its  gracious 
effects ;"  this  is  assurance ;  I  may  illustrate  it  by 
referring  again  to  the  rebellious  subjects,  and  their 
gracious  sovereign.  A  ringleader  of  the  revolt, 
can  scarcely  persuade  himself  that  he  can  be  in- 
cluded in  the  act  of  amnesty  ;  he  reads  the  procla- 
mation again,  which  runs  thus : — The  king,  pity- 
ing his  deluded  subjects,  and  filled  with  clemency, 
will  grant  a  gracious  pardon  to  whomsoever  will 
lay  down  their  arms  by  such  a  day.  Having  ex- 
amined the  proofs  of  the  authenticity  of  the  act, 
and  being  satisfied  on  that  point ;  he  says,  "  It  is 
really  true,  and  I  believe  that  the  king  is  willing 
to  pardon  all  that  submit  j  and  as  he  has  made  no 
exception  against  any,  but  says,  whomsoever  will 
lay  down  his  arms  shall  be  forgiven,  I  believe  that 
there  is  mercy  for  me.  Thus  far  faith  goes;  and 
even  before  he  reaches  the  scene  of  pardon,  or 
takes  a  step  towards  it,  his  mind  is  at  rest,  the 
proclamation  itself,  as  soon  as  it  is  understood  and 
believed,  gives  him  comfort ;  he  has  no  doubt  ot 
his  being  accej.'ied.  He  goes  and  lays  down  his 
armSj  and  now  he  is  assured  he  is  safe ;  he  is  con- 


H6  MISTAKES. 


ft 


scious  he  has  done  what  the  monarch  required,  and 
he  feels  he  has  what  the  monarch  promised.  In 
his  case,  however,  you  perceive  that  there  would 
not  be  much  solicitude  about  assurance.  Faith 
and  compliance  with  the  monarch's  demand,  would 
be  all  that  he  would  concern  himself  about.  As- 
surance would  follow  upon  faith  and  action.  So 
should  it  be  with  anxious  Enquirers  after  salva- 
tion :  their  business  is  to  believe  what  1 — that  they 
are  Christians?  No;  for  a  belief  that  /  am  a 
Christian,  is  not  faith,  but  assurance ;  but  to  be- 
lieve the  Gospel,  which  is  God's  proclamation  of 
mercy  and  pardon  to  his  rebel  subjects :  they  are 
to  feel  persuaded  that  God  has  loved  them  in  com- 
mon with  other  sinners ;  invited  them ;  has  pro- 
mised to  receive  them^  and  take  the  comfort  of  this 
revelation  of  mercy  ;  and  then,  from  the  pacifying 
effect  of  this  upon  their  conscience,  and  the  puri- 
fying effect  of  it  upon  their  hearts,  to  be  assured 
they  have  believed,  and  have  passed  from  death 
unto  life.  Faith  then  is  not  assurance,  but  the 
cause  of  it. 

Now,  Enquirers,  are  you  not  aware  you  have 
confounded  these  two ;  and  have  been  consequently 
walking  in  great  perplexity  ?  You  are  dejected, 
and  cannot  be  comforted.  Why  ?  "  Oh,"  you 
say,  "my  faith  is  so  weak;  indeed  I  am  afraid  I 
have  no  faith."  Now,  what  do  you  mean  by  ha- 
ving no  faith  1  "  I  am  afraid  I  am  not  a  Chris- 
tian.   I  fear  I  do  not  believe.    I  am  full  of  unbe- 


^-  MISTAKES.  117 

lief."  And  let  me  tell  you  that  you  never  can  be 
delivered  from  distress  in  this  way ;  for  you  are 
wanting  to  know  you  are  a  Christian  before  you 
are  one ;  you  are  striving  to  know  you  are  a  be- 
liever before  you  believe ;  you  wish  to  be  assured 
you  are  accepted  of  Christ,  in  order  that  you  may 
go  to  him  for  acceptance.  Faith  is  not  believing 
that  you  are  a  Christian,  but  believing  that  Christ 
died  for  sinners ;  and  unbelief  is  not  doubting  that 
you  are  a  Christian,  but  doubting  Christ's  willing- 
ness to  save  you.  My  advice  to  you  then  is,  to 
leave  assurance  as  a  first  matter  out  of  considera- 
tion, to  talk  nothing,  and  think  nothing  about  it. 
Your  business  at  present  is  with  faith ;  you  are  to 
believe  ;  you  are  to  commit  your  soul  to  the  atone- 
ment of  Christ ;  you  are  to  be  persuaded  that  he 
died  for  sinners,  died  for  you,  and  is  willing  to 
save  you.  This  is  the  assurance  you  are  to  seek; 
and  this  is  what  the  apostle  means  by  the  full  as- 
surance of  faith ;  an  unhesitating  confidence  that 
the  Lord  Jesus  is  able  and  willing  to  save  to  the 
uttermost ;  and  therefore,  able  and  willing  to  save 
you.  Get  your  mind  full  of  conviction  of  the  truth 
of  this  ;  let  your  soul  be  thrown,  as  it  were,  wide 
open  to  admit  this  delightful  persuasion,  that  Christ 
is  mighty  to  save ;  delighted  to  save ;  waiting  to 
save  all — you  among  the  rest ;  you  as  willingly  as 
any  of  the  rest;  and  then  will  this  truth  give  you 
such  peace  and  exert  such  a  power  over  your  heart, 
as  to  prove  to  you  the  existence  and  reality  of  your 


118  MISTAKES. 

faith.  ^  The  assurance  which  the  Scripture  speaks 
of;  is  the  assurance  of  God's  love  to  you  in  Christ; 
and  this,  I  again  say,  is  the  only  assurance  which 
you  have  to  do  with  at  present. 


CHAPTER   VII. 


PERPLEXITIES  WHICH  ARE  OFTEN  FELT  BY  ENaUIRERS. 

1.  Many  are  exceedingly  perplexed  and  dis- 
tressed 071  the  subject  of  their  personal  election 
to  eternal  life. 

I  have  nothing  to  do  now  with  those  careless  or 
profane  persons,  who  make  this  awful  doctrine  an 
excuse,  or  rather  profess  to  make  it  au  excuse,  for 
the  entire  neglect  of  religion;  and  who  with  a 
wicked  indifference  exclaim,  "  If  I  am  elected  to 
be  saved,  I  shall  he  saved  without  any  concern  of 
mine ;  but  if  I  am  not  elected,  no  effort  of  mine 
will  or  can  save  me."  The  fact  is,  that  such  per- 
sons do  not  believe  in  the  doctrine  of  election  at 
all;  nor  indeed,  care  any  thing  about  salvation, 
but  are  utterly  ignorant  and  careless,  and  refer  to 
this  solemn  truth,  either  to  quiet  their  own  con- 
science, or  to  silence  and  turn  away  the  voice  of 
faithful  admonition.  But  there  are  others  Avho  do 
feel,  especially  in  the  early  stages  of  religious  en- 
quiry, no  small  degree  of  perplexity  on  this  sub- 
ject.    Now  here  let  me  at  once  inform  you,  that 


120  PERPLEXITIES. 

you  who  are  enquiring  after  salvation,  have  nothing 
to  do  with  the  doctrine  of  election ;  nor,  indeed, 
has  any  one  aught  to  do  with  the  secret  purposes 
of  God,  as  a  rule  of  conduct.  The  sublime  truth 
of  God's  sovereignty  in  the  salvation  of  his  people, 
is  introduced  in  Scrij)ture,  not  to  discourage  the 
approach  of  the  sinner  to  Christ  for  salvation,  but 
to  remind  those  who  have  come  to  him,  that  their 
salvation  is  all  of  grace ;  to  take  away  from  them 
all  ground  of  boasting ;  to  confirm  their  faith  in 
the  accomplishment  of  the  divine  promises;  to 
promote  their  comfort  ;  to  inculcate  the  neces- 
sity of  personal  holiness ;  and  to  encourage  Chris- 
tians amidst  the  afflictions  of  life. — Rom.  viii.  ix. 
— Ephes.  i.  4,  5,  9,  11.— 1  Peter  i.  2.  But  it  is 
never  designed  to  be  a  source  of  discouragement 
to  penitents.  The  rule  of  your  conduct  is  the  in- 
vitation and  promise  of  Christ,  not  the  secret  pur- 
poses of  God : — "  The  secret  things  belong  unto 
the  Lord  our  God ;  but  those  things  that  are  re 
vealed  belong  unto  us  and  to  our  children  for  ever, 
that  we  may  do  all  the  words  of  this  law." — Deut. 
xxix.  29.  The  mercy  of  God  is  infinite;  the  me- 
rit of  Christ's  atonement  is  infinite ;  the  power  of 
the  Spirit  is  infinite ;  and  the  invitations  of  the 
Gospel  are  universal.  "  Come  unto  me  all  ye  that 
labour  and  are  heavy  laden."  And  thus  saith  the 
Lord,  "  I  have  no  pleasure  in  the  death  of  a  sin- 
ner." "  The  Lord  is  long  suffering  to  us  ward, 
not  willing  that  any  should  perish,  but  that  all 


PERPLEXITIES.  12 

should  come  to  repentance."     "  Him  that  cometh 
I  will  in  no  wise  cast  out."     "  Whosoever  will, 
let  him  take  of  the  water  of  life  freely."     Now 
these  are  the  words  of  Scripture,  and  must,  there- 
fore, be  true  ;  and  here  is  the  rule  of  your  conduct. 
You  can  understand  this,  but  you  know  nothing 
about  the  secret  purposes  of  God.     Besides,  if  you 
knew  you  were  elected,  you  would  not  be  received 
and  saved  because  of  this  knowledge,  but  because 
you  believed  in  Christ,  who  invites  men  not  as 
elected  to  life,  but  as  lost  sinners  condemned  to 
death.     If  you  had  been  permitted  to  read  the  de- a»^^/ 
crees  of  heaven,  and  had  seen  your  name  in  the^-  j-L 
Lamb's  book  of  life,  you  would  not  be  one  whit  ^    -  /i 
more  welcome  to  Christ,  than  you  are  now,  that  ^ 
you  know  nothing  about  the  matter.     You  are  in 
vited ;   and  if  you  neglect  the  invitation  which 
you  do  know,  because  of  a  decree  which  you  do 
not  know,  the  blame  of  perishing  will  lie  at  your 
own  door;  and  you  will  find  at  last  that  you  were 
lost,  not  in  consequence  of  any  purpose  of  God  de- 
termining you  to  be  lost,  but  in  consequence  of 
your  own  unbelief. 

Why  should  the  purpose  of  God  in  reference  to 
salvation,  be  that  only  view  of  the  divine  decrees 
which  perplexes  you?  Do  you  not  believe  there 
is  also  a  purpose  which  refers  to  the  events  of  your 
natural  life  and  death?  But  do  you  on  this  ac- 
count hesitate  in  sickness  to  take  the  medicine  pre- 
scribed for  you  by  a  skilful  physician,  lest  you 
11 


I'i2  PEHPLE  XITIES. 

should  not  be  ordained  to  life?  No.  You  say, 
and  wilh  reason,  "  I  know  nothing  about  the  Di- 
vine purpose  ;  my  business  is  with  plain  rules  of 
duty,  and  instituted  means;  for  if  I  am  to  live,  I 
can  expect  recovery  only  by  these  means."  Ac 
thus  in  reference  to  your  souls :  leave  the  decree 
out  of  consideration ;  for  you  know  nothing  about 
them,  and  have  nothing  to  do  with  them.  You 
are  invited  to  use  the  means  of  life  ;  if  you  are  de- 
creed to  he  saved,  you  must  be  saved  by  these,  and 
if  you  use  them  aright  you  certainly  will  be  saved. 
If  any  use  at  all  is  to  be  made  by  an  Enquirer,  of 
the  doctrine  of  election,  it  is  a  use  in  his  own  fa- 
vour. You  know  not  that  you  are  not  elected,  and 
the  very  solicitude  of  your  mind  about  salvation, 
is  a  presumption  that  you  are,  since  that  solicitude 
is  the  way  in  which  God  carries  his  decree  into 
execution.  Besides,  if  you  get  away  from  the  in- 
vitation, and  instead  of  making  that  the  rule  of 
your  conduct,  trouble  your  head  with  other  views 
and  subjects,  you  will  find  as  much  perplexity  ia 
God's  foreknowledge,  as  you  do  in  his  decree. 
Even  those  who  deny  the  purposes  of  God,  have 
just  as  much  reason  to  perplex  themselves  with 
Divine  prescience,  and  say,  "  Whatever  God  fore- 
sees, and  nothing  but  what  he  foresees,  will  take 
place  ;  now  he  foresees  either  that  I  shall  be  saved 
or  lost ;  and  as  I  do  not  know  that  he  foresees  that 
I  shall  be  saved,  I  am  greatly  discouraged." 
Abandon  at  once  therefore  all  solicitude,  and  in- 


PERPLEXITIES.  123 

deed  all  thoughts  about  the  decree,  and  fix  your 
attentioQ  on  the  invitation.  Christ  bids  you  come 
to  him  for  salvation ;  and  every  bar  and  obstacle 
which  lies  in  the  way  of  your  coming,  is  placed 
there  by  you,  and  not  by  him.  He  does  not  say, 
"  Come  when  you  have  ascertained  your  election, 
but  come  and  ascertain  it.  He  does  not  say,  you 
are  welcome  if  you  have  read  the  decree,  but  you 
are  welcome  if  you  believe  the  promise.  He  does 
not  say,  come  under  the  presumption  that  you  are 
predestinated,  but  come  with  the  assurance  that 
you  are  bidden.  Your  business  is  to  make  your 
calling  sure,  and  then  you  will  no  longer  doubt 
of  your  election. 

2.  Another  source  of  perplexity  with  some,  is  a 
fear  that  they  have  committed  the  unpardonable 
blasphemy  against  the  Holy  Ghost. 

This  is  by  no  means  an  uncommon  ground  of 
painful  solicitude;  and  even  when  it  does  not^ 
amount  to  a  deep  and  terrifying  conviction,  yet 
the  subject  haunts  the  imagination  with  many  dis- 
tressing fears,  keeps  the  peace  unsettled,  and  pre- 
vents that  calm  and  tranquillizing  reliance,  to  which 
the  penitent  is  invited.  Now  I  wish  you  to  know 
that  in  whatever  awful  and  terrific  obscurity  this 
subject  is  enveloped,  no  one  that  is  really  anxious 
about  his  salvation,  need  to  be  under  the  least  fear, 
that  he  has  passed  the  line  of  hope  and  entered  the 
region  where  mercy  never  dispenses  pardon ;  the 
very  fear  of  having  committed  tJiis  sin,  when  it  js 


124  PERPLEXITIES. 

connected  with  concern  about  religion,  is  as  cer- 
tain a  proof  that  it  has  not  been  committed,  as  if 
it  were  declared  by  a  voice  from  heaven.  It  may- 
be taken  for  granted  that  in  every  case  where  this 
mysterious  crime  has  been  committed,  the  trans- 
gressor is  given  up  either  to  a  deadly  stupor,  or  a 
raging  frenzy  of  the  conscience.  But,  perhaps, 
the  best  way  of  removing  the  apprehension,  is  to 
explain  the  subject  which  occasions  it.  What  is 
the  nature  of  this  sin  ?  Read  the  account  of  it  :— 
"  Wherefore  I  say  unto  you,  all  manner  of  sin  and 
blasphemy  shall  be  forgiven  unto  men ;  but  the 
blasphemy  against  the  Holy  Ghost  shall  not  be 
forgiven  unto  men.  And  whosoever  speaketh  a 
word  against  the  Son  of  Man,  it  shall  be  forgiven 
him;  but  whosoever  speaketh  against  the  Holy 
Ghost,  it  shall  not  be  forgiven  him,  neither  in  this 
world,  nor  in  the  world  to  come." — Matthew  xii. 
•  31,  32.  The  occasion  of  these  awful  words,  was 
the  conduct  of  the  Pharisees  in  ascribing  the  mi- 
racles of  Christ,  the  reality  of  which  they  could 
not  deny  or  doubt,  to  the  power  of  the  devil.  Still, 
though  this  was  the  occasion  of  the  words,  it  was 
not  a  description  of  the  sin,  for  this  was  speaking 
against  the  Son  of  Man,  and  not  against  the  Holy 
Ghost,  which  was  not  yet  poured  out.  The  day  ol 
Pentecost,  properly  speaking,  commenced  the  dis- 
pensation of  the  Spirit ;  when  his  divine  gifts, 
conferred  upon  the  apostles,  completed  the  evi- 
dence of  the  Christian  economy;  and  the  language 


PERPLEXITIES.  135 

of  Christ,  therefore,  seemed  to  direct  the  Pharisees 
forward,  in  the  way  of  impressive  warning  lo  that 
event;  and  to  remind  them,  though  they  under- 
stood him  not,  that  the  malicious  contempt  cast 
upon  his  miracles,  if  repeated  after  the  Holy 
Ghost  should  be  poured  out,  would  fill  the  mea- 
sure of  their  iniquities;  seal  them  up  in  unbelief; 
and  place  them  beyond  the  reach  of  mercy.  There 
would  remain  no  farther  evidence  of  the  divine 
mission  of  Christ ;  the  last  and  the  fullest  attesta- 
tion to  his  Messiahship  would  be  rejected  and  re- 
viled with  malice  of  heart.  If  in  addition  to  this, 
you  will  just  recollect  the  meaning  of  the  term 
blasphemy,  which  signifies,  to  speak  reproachfully, 
opprobriously,  or  impiously,  you  will  then  have 
the  nature  of  this  crime  before  you.  It  is  know- 
ledge in  the  mind  that  miracles  were  wrought ; 
malice  in  the  heart  against  Christ,  in  attestation 
of  whom  they  were  given  ;  contempt  of  the  Holy 
Ghost  their  author;  and  the  language  of  spite  upon 
the  tongue,  reviling  the  miracles  themselves,  by 
ascribing  them  to  the  agency  of  devils.  It  is  not 
simple  unbelief  under  the  dispensation  of  the 
Spirit,  persevered  in  till  death ;  it  is  not  mere  in- 
fidelity, even  under  very  aggravated  circumstances ; 
but  it  is  the  union  of  conviction,  malice,  and  im- 
piety. It  is,  therefore,  evident,  that  if  this  sin  is 
now  ever  committed,  no  enquirer  after  salvation 
needs  for  a  moment  entertain  any  apprehension 
that  it  has  been  committed  by  him.     TIr.  has  not 


126  PERPLEXITIES. 

passed  the  boundary  of  mercy  ;  nor  is  there  a  sin 
he  has  ever  been  guilty  of,  however  enormous  in 
magnitude,  or  however  painful  in  remembrance, 
but  the  blood  of  Jesus  Christ  can  cleanse  it  away. 

3.  But  this  leads  to  another  perplexity  which  is 
felt  by  others ;  who,  though  they  do  not  fear  that 
they  have  been  guilty  of  this  unpardonable  crime, 
are  distressed  by  the  apprehension,  that  their 
sins  are  too  great,  too  numerous,  or  too  peculiar 
to  be  forgiven. 

Sometimes  convinced  sinners  are  enabled  by 
divine  grace  to  indulge  the  hope  of  pardon,  almost 
as  soon  as  they  receive  the  conviction  of  sin.  Yea, 
some  are  led  to  see  the  evil  of  sin  at  first,  more  by 
the  mercy  of  the  gospel,  than  the  stern  justice 
which  appears  in  the  law ;  but  others  are  long  and 
sorely  harassed  by  fears  of  rejection,  before  they 
are  brought  to  a  comfortable  expectation  of  for- 
giveness. This  is  more  commonly  the  case  with 
those  who  have  gone  to  great  lengths  in  sin,  and 
have  resisted  the  clearest  and  loudest  warnings  of 
conscience  ;  it  is  not  unusual  for  such  persons, 
when  truly  awakened  to  a  sense  of  their  sin  and 
danger,  to  plunge  into  the  very  depths  of  despon- 
dency, and  to  remain  for  a  long  time  without  hope 
or  peace.  In  some  cases,  I  think  it  possible,  that 
this  desponding  frame  of  mind  is  reaWy  cherished, 
as  if  it  were  an  evidence  of  sincere  and  deep  pe- 
nitence :  there  are  those  who  look  upon  doubts 
and  fears  as  the  marks  of  a  work  of  grace,  and 


PERPLEXITIEg.  127 

proofs  of  genuine  piety.  This,  however,  is  a  great 
delusion,  since  true  godly  sorrow  is  both  accom- 
panied and  promoted  by  faith  and  hope.  Despair 
tends  to  harden  the  heart,  and  to  freeze  up  the 
feelings  of  penitence.  God  cannot  be  glorified, 
nor  Christ  honoured,  by  doubting  of  his  ability  or 
willingness  to  save.  I  am  persuaded  that  many 
persons  say  more  about  their  sins  being  too  great 
to  be  pardoned,  than  they  either  believe  or  feel, 
from  a  supposition  that  it  is  a  token  of  humility  to 
talk  thus.  Watch  against  this,  for  it  is  an  act  of 
guilty  insincerity  ;  it  is  trifling  with  sacred  things, 
and  should  be  avoided.  But  there  are  many  who 
are  really  distressed  with  the  most  painful  solici- 
tude, and  the  most  gloomy  apprehensions  about 
the  pardon  of  their  sins.  Now  here  let  me  place  a 
plain  question  to  you :  is  your  concern  merely  to 
be  pardoned,  or  to  be  sanctified  as  well  as  par- 
doned 1  Are  you  afraid  only  of  being  left  under 
the  punishment  of  sin,  or  do  you  also  fear  being 
left  under  its  power  ?  If  you  are  so  selfish  as  to 
be  anxious  for  nothing  but  your  own  safety,  with- 
out caring  for  holiness,  no  wonder  you  are  left  by 
God  to  such  dark  despondency.  You  do  not  yet 
understand  the  design  of  Christ's  work,  which  is 
not  merely  to  deliver  from  hell,  but  also  from  sin. 
Change,  then,  or  rather  enlarge  the  object  of  your 
hope,  so  as  to  include  sanctification  as  well  as  jus- 
tification, and  in  all  probability  your  unbelief  and 
distress  will  soon  give  way  ;  for  it  will  be  found 


l^  PERPLEXITIES. 

easier,  perhaps,  to  some  to  believe  that  God  is  will- 
ing to  make  them  holy,  than  to  forgive  them. 
Desponding  sinner,  think  of  this ;  the  salvation  of 
Christ  is  designed  to  make  you  a  new  creature, 
and  to  restore  the  image  of  God  to  your  soul ;  and 
do  you  not  believe  that  God  must  be  infinitely  will- 
ing to  do  this  ? 

After  all,  however,  there  are  some,  who  even 
with  this  view  of  the  design  of  Christ's  death,  can- 
not be  induced  to  hope  that  their  sins  can  be  for- 
given :  none  have  sinned,  they  think,  like  them ; 
there  are  aggravations  in  their  sins,  not  to  be  found 
in  the  conduct  of  any  other.  Now  I  refer  such 
burdened  and  desponding  minds. 

To  the  promises  of  God's  word.  Read  atten- 
tively such  declarations  as  are  found  in  the  follow- 
ing passages: — Isaiah  xliv.  22. — Isaiah  Iv.  6,  7. — 
Micah  vii.  18,  19.— Matthew  xii.  31,  32.  Dwell 
especially  upon  this  last  passage,  because  it  most 
explicitly  declares,  that  the  blasphemy  against  the 
Holy  Ghost  is  the  only  sin  excepted  from  forgive- 
ness. If  you  are  convinced,  as  I  think  you  must, 
that  you  have  never  committed  that  sin,  it  is 
absolutely  impossible  that  ypur  sin  can  be  unpar- 
donable. 

Dwell  much  upon  the  perfection  of  ChrisVs 
work  in  making  atonement  for  sin.  The  apostle 
declares,  that  "  the  blood  of  Jesus  Christ  his  Son 
cleanseth  us  from  all  sin." — 1  John  i.  7.  It  would 
seem  as  if  this  declaration  were  written  on  pur- 


PERPLEXITIES.  129 

pose  to  meet  such  cases  as  yours.  This  scripture 
says  positively,  the  blood  of  Christ  cleanseth  from 
all  sin.  "  No,"  you  say,  in  flat  and  perverse  con- 
tradiction, "  it  cannot  cleanse  from  mine."  Did 
Christ  die  to  save  sinners,  and  yet  are  there  some 
sinners  to  be  found,  according  to  your  view,  whom 
he  cannot  save  ?  Then  his  work  of  salvation  is 
unfinished,  and  his  character  as  a  Saviour  is  in- 
complete. Has  he  not  saved  millions  already  by 
the  merit  of  his  death  ? — Well,  suppose  all  the 
sins  of  those  millions  had  been  in  you  alone,  could 
he  not  as  easily  have  saved  you  in  that  case,  as 
he  has  saved  them?  Certainly  he  could.  Can 
you  really  make  up  your  mind  to  go  and  say  to 
Christ,  "  Lord,  thou  canst  not,  wilt  not^  save  me , 
there  is  neither  love  enough  in  thy  heart,  nor  pow- 
er enough  in  thy  Spirit,  nor  merit  enough  in  thy 
great  sacrifice,  to  save  me.  Look  upon  me  and  behold 
a  sinner,  whom  even  thou  canst  not  save  :  behold  in 
me  a  sinner,  to  whom  thy  uttermost  ability  cannot 
reach."  No,  you  cannot  say  this;  and  yet  you  may 
say  it,  and  innocently  say  it,  if  what  you  affirm  is 
true,  that  your  sins  are  too  great  to  be  forgiven.  Let 
it  be  admitted  for  the  sake  of  argument,  that  you  are 
the  chief  of  sinners,  still  Christ  can  save  you  ;  so  at 
least  the  apostle  thought,  when  he  said,  "  It  is  a 
^aithful  saying,  and  worthy  of  all  acceptation, 
that  Jesus  Christ  came  into  the  world  to  save 
sinners,  of  whom  I  am  chief."  And  now  read 
what  follows     *  Howbeit  for  this  cause  I  obtained 


130  PERPLEXITIES. 

mercy  ;  that  in  me  first  (or  as  it  signifies,  in  me  the 
chief  sinner)  Jesus  Christ  might  show  forth  all 
long  suffering,  for  a  pattern  to  them  which  should 
hereafter  believe  on  him  to  life  everlasting." — 1 
Tim.  i.  15,  16.  Think  what  Saul  of  Tarsus  was ;  a 
bloody  persecutor,  and  even  murderer  of  the  disci 
pies  of  Christ ;  yet  Christ  not  only  pardoned  him, 
but  raised  him  to  the  dignity  of  the  chief  of  the 
apostles.  For  what  purpose  ?  To  be  a  pattern  of 
God's  mercy  to  the  end  of  time.  Yes,  there  he 
stands  upon  the  pedestal  of  his  own  immortal  wri- 
tings, a  monument  of  the  riches,  power,  and  sove- 
reignty of  divine  grace,  bearing  this  inscription :  I, 

WHO  WAS  A  BLASPHEMER,  A  PERSECUTOR  AND  INJURI- 
OUS, OBTAINED  MERCY.  Let  no  man  ever  despair  ; 
for  if  there  arise  a  greater  sinner  than  I  was, 
let  him  look  on  me,  and  hope  for  pardon  through 
the  blood  of  Christ.  I  was  forgiven  to  encourage 
the  wickedest  of  men  to  repent,  to  believe  in  Jesus, 
and  expect  salvation. 

Consider  well  the  other  instances  recorded  in 
the  Word  of  God,  of  pardon  granted  to  some  of  the 
greatest  sinners.  There  is  scarcely  one  class  of 
sinners,  or  one  kind  of  crime,  which  is  not  speci- 
fically mentioned  in  scripture  as  having  been  par- 
doned. Think  of  Manasseh,  an  apostate,  an  idol- 
ater, a  wholesale  murderer,  a  man  whose  example 
and  authority  as  a  king  were  employed  to  fill  a  na- 
tion with  iniquity  ;  of  David,  who  was  guilty  of 
the  united  crimes  of  adultery  and  murder;  of  the 


PERPLEXITIES.  131 

dying  malefactor,  who  was  saved  upon  his  cross ; 
of  the  Jews  who  were  converted  on  the  day  of  Pen- 
tecost, and  who  though  they  had  been  the  mur- 
derers of  Christ,  were  forgiven ;  of  the  once  pol- 
luted members  of  the  Corinthian  church, — 1  Cor. 
vi.  9 — 11.  What  proofs  are  these  that  no  sins  will 
keep  a  man  from  salvation,  that  do  not  keep  him 
from  Christ.  The  fact  is,  that  greatness  and  lit- 
tleness, few  and  many,  have  nothing  to  do  with 
this  matter,  in  the  way  of  making  it  more  difficult, 
or  more  easy,  to  obtain  mercy.  No  man  is  pardon- 
ed because  his  sins  are  fewer  than  others ;  and 
none  is  rejected  because  his  sins  are  more.  Great 
sinners  are  as  welcome  as  little  ones ;  for  as  the 
skill  of  the  physician  is  the  more  displayed  in  dan- 
gerous and  difficult  cases,  than  in  slight  ones,  so  is 
the  grace  of  Christ  the  more  illustriously  manifested 
in  the  pardon  and  sanctification  of  notorious  sin- 
ners than  in  the  salvation  of  those  who  have  not 
gone  so  fat  astray.  If  God's  mercy  be  infinite,  it 
must  be  as  easy  to  him  to  pardon  a  million  sins,  as 
one.  Desponding  sinner,  dry  up  your  tears,  and 
doubt  no  longer.  The  greatest  sin  you  can  com- 
mit, is  to  disbelieve  God's  promise  to  forgive  your 
other  sins.  Unbelief  is  the  most  heinous  of  all 
sins.  "  He  that  believeth  not  God,  hath  made 
HIM  A  LIAR." — 1  John  V.  10.  Ycs,  you  are  giving 
God  the  lie  to  his  face,  as  often  as  you  say  your 
sins  are  too  great  to  be  forgiven.  Do  you  not 
tremble  at  this  ?    Is  there  not  abominable  pride  in 


V* 


132  PERPLEXITIES. 


unbelief?  Who  and  what  arc  you,  that  you  should 
suppose  God  has  any  object  or  interest  in  d?ceiv- 
ing  you,  by  a  false  promise?  Are  you  so  considerable 
a  person,  that  he  should  think  it  worth  his  while  to 
falsify  his  word  in  order  to  draw  you  into  false  con- 
fidence 1  Believe  then  from  this  hour,  that  God  is 
more  willing  to  forgive  you  the  greatest  of  your  sins, 
than  you  imagine  he  is  to  blot  out  the  least  of  them 
4.  Some  are  perplexed  with  the  notion,  that  as 
"  the  sacrifice  of  the  wicked  is  an  abomination  to 
God  ;"  and  as  none  of  the  works  ofunregenerate 
persons  are  acceptable  to  God,  it  is  not  right  for 
them  to  pray,  since  they  are  not  yet  believers  in 
Christ.  With  regard  to  the  expression  above  al- 
luded to,  which  speaks  of  the  Sacrifice  of  the  wick- 
ed, it  means  the  hypocritical  religious  services  of 
men,  who  are  still  living  in  the  commission  of 
known  sin,  and  impiously  designing  to  make  some 
atonement  for  their  iniquities  by  their  sacrifices. 
This  is  evident  from  the  passage  itself,  where  it 
is  also  said,  the  way  of  the  wicked  is  abomi 
nation,  i.  e.  his  conduct;  and  because  his  con 
duct  is  abominable,  therefore  his  prayer  is  also  abo- 
minable. This  passage  is  best  expounded  by  a  re- 
ference to  Isaiah  i.  10 — 18.  It  applies  to  a  totally 
different  case  from  yours.  I  acknowledge  that 
your  prayers  do  not  merit  the  divine  blessing  which 
you  are  anxious  to  obtain,  however  frequently  or 
fervently  ihey  may  be  presented.  You  ought  not 
to  pray  with  the  idea  that  there  is  any  worth  in 


PERPLEXITIES.  133 

your  prayers  to  make  any  atonement  for  your  sins ; 
nor  ought  you  to  look  for  peace  and  comfort  from 
your  prayers.  I  go  a  step  farther,  and  remind  you 
that  unless  you  pray  in  faith,  your  prayers  are  not 
such  as  God  has  engaged  to  answer.  You  should 
believe  that  God  is  willing  and  waiting  to  bestow 
all  spiritual  blessings,  for  he  has  promised  to  do  so, 
and  to  doubt  at  the  time  you  pray,  whether  God 
will  grant  what  he  has  promised,  is  sin ;  but  to 
doubt  whether  it  is  your  duty  to  pray  because  you 
do  not  yet  know  that  you  are  accepted  of  God,  is 
unquestionably  wrong.  You  may  as  well  ques- 
tion whether  it  is  your  duty  to  read  the  Bible,  or 
to  go  to  public  worship.  Did  not  Peter  tell  Simon 
Magus  to  pray  1  "  Repent  now,"  said  he,  "  ot 
this  thy  wickedness,  and  pray  God,  if  perhaps  the 
thought  of  thy  heart  may  be  forgiven  ;  for  I  per- 
ceive that  thou  art  in  the  gall  of  bitterness  and 
bond  of  iniquity." — Acts  viii.  22,  23.  And  we 
read  of  many  instances  in  the  Old  Testament,  of 
persons  praying,  and  being  heard  and  answered, 
who  were  not  at  the  time  truly  converted  to  God. 
As  for  example,  Ahab,  1  Kings,  xxi.  29.  Ahaz, 
2  Kings,  xiii.  4,  5.  So  also  the  Ninevites  prayed 
and  obtained  favour  of  God.  No  prayers  can  be 
acceptable  to  God  that  are  insincere,  and  such 
are  the  prayers  of  wicked  men  for  salvation,  for 
they  do  not  really  desire  to  be  saved  from  sin ;  but 
the  prayers  of  the  Enquirer  after  salvation  are  sin- 
cere ;  he  really  desires  it.  Still,  however,  I  would 
12 


it- 


134  PERPLEXITIES. 

remind  you,  that  as  long  as  you  pray  in  an  uncon- 
verted state,  your  prayers  are  only  the  operations  of 
self-love,  which  though  not  sinful,  are  not  truly 
holy  ;  they  are  but  the  cries  of  misery  after  relief, 
the  desire  of  the  soul  after  happiness;  and  how- 
ever frequently  or  fervently  repeated,  prefer  no 
claim  on  God  for  his  blessing.  The  sin  lies  not 
in  praying,  for  if  sincere,  there  is  no  sin  in  crying 
to  God  for  help,  but  in  not  believing.  Instead 
therefore  of  leaving  off  prayer,  or  harassing  your 
minds  with  doubts  about  the  propriety  of  carrying 
it  on,  continue  instant  in  prayer,  believing  at  the 
same  time  the  promise  of  mercy  in  Christ  Jesus. 
You  are  to  add  to  your  prayer,  faith;  and  it  is 
doubtless  your  duty  at  once  to  believe  ;  but  should 
it  not  be,  that  your  soul  loses  immediately  its  guilty 
fears,  still  you  are  to  go  on  praying  for  mercy,  and 
for  faith  to  receive  it.  It  cannot  be  wrong  for  a 
soul  to  cry  for  mercy.  With  such  light  as  you 
have,  although  it  may  not  be  such  as  is  necessary 
to  salvation,  lift  up  your  desire  to  God.  Pray  for 
more  knowledge,  stronger  faith,  and  firmer  hope. 
Prayer  is  your  duty,  and  it  is  your  privilege  ;  and 
let  no  speculative  difficulties  have  a  moment's  in- 
fluence to  induce  you  to  suspend  it.  If  you  can- 
not yet  pray  as  a  believer,  cry  for  mercy  as  a  sin- 
ner. But  do  not  remain  in  unbelief,  supposing  that 
prayer  can  be  a  substitute  for  faith,  for  as  I  said  be- 
fore, so  I  repeat,  God  does  not  bind  himself  to  an- 
swer any  prayers  but  those  of  faith. 


CHAPTER    VIII. 


DISCOURAGEMENTS    WHICH   PRESENT   THEMSELVES    AT 
THE  COMMENCEMENT  OF  A  RELIGIOUS  COURSE. 

The  word  of  God  teaches  us  to  expect  these. 
What  means  the  straight  gate  but  an  entrance  at- 
tended with  difficulty  ?  What  means  counting  the 
cost,  but  contemplating  obstacles  and  preparing  to 
meet  them?  Bdnyan  knew  the  course  to  heaven 
when  he  placed  the  slough  of  despond  in  the  first 
stage  of  the  journey.  You  are  mistaken  if  you  ex- 
pect by  one  easy  stride,  to  reach  the  firm  and  solid 
ground  beyond  this  dismal  swamp.  Sincerity  will 
diminish  difficulties,  and  finally  overcome  them, 
but  it  will  not  prevent  them.  Prepare  then  for  dis- 
couragement, for  you  will  be  sure  to  meet  with  it, 
and  it  is  both  wise  and  merciful  to  forewarn  you 
of  it,  lest  you  should  conclude  that  some  strange 
thing  has  happened  to  you.  But  observe,  no  part 
of  this  discouragement  comes  from  God.  He  in- 
terposes no  obstacle,  raises  no  difficulties,  presents 
no  objection.  A  doubt  of  His  willingness  to  save, 
a  well-founded  suspicion  of  His  mercy,  would  be 
fatal  to  all  your  hopes.     But  all  is  clear  ground,  so 


136  DISCOOB  AGEMENTS. 

far  as  he  is  concerned.  Dwell  on  this  thought,  it 
is  a  blissful  one  ;  ponder  here,  before  you  go  an- 
other step ;  arm  yourselves  to  meet  every  discour- 
agement, come  from  what  quarter  it  may,  with 
this  conviction,  that  God  waits  to  be  gracious  ;  yes, 
like  the  Father  in  the  parable  of  the  Prodigal  Son, 
he  is  out  looking  for  you,  his  infinite  mercy  is  in 
motion  towards  you,  he  runs  towards  you  faster 
than  you  go  to  him.  What  then  is  your  discour- 
agement ? 

I.  The  cold  indifference^  the  repulsive  shyness, 
of  professing  Christians,  You  thought  that  the 
very  look  of  anxiety ;  the  very  countenance  that 
seemed  to  say  to  their  eyes,  if  not  to  their  ears, 
"  What  shall  1  do  to  be  saved  ?"  would  draw  the 
sympathies  of  many  upon  you  ;  instead  of  which, 
you  are  left  without  a  friend  to  commiserate,  to 
guide,  to  soothe  you,  and  are  compelled  in  the 
agony  of  your  soul  to  say,  even  to  the  multitude 
that  go  up  to  Zion,  "  Is  it  nothing  to  you  all  ye  that 
pass  by,  come  see  if  there  be  any  sorrow  like  unto 
mine.  Will  no  man  care  for  my  soul  ?"  Ah,  my 
friend,  let  me  tell  you  in  the  beginning  of  your  ca- 
reer, that  yoM  cannot  expect  too  little  from  man, 
nor  too  much  from  God.  It  is  the  scandal  of  the 
Church  of  Christ,  and  in  measure  also,  of  its  mi- 
nisters, that  serious  enquirers  after  salvation^ 
are  shamefully  neglected.  But  shall  this  dis- 
courage you  ?  What,  when  all  heaven  is  interest- 
ed on  your  behalf?    When  Father,  Son,  and  Holy 


DISCOURAGEMENTS.  137 

Ghost,  are  concerned  for  you  ?  When  the  blessed 
angels  are  rejoicing  over  you,  and  flying  on  wings 
of  love  to  minister  to  you,  as  an  heir  of  salvation  ? 
Cast  away  your  gloom,  look  to  God,  and  if  the  neg- 
lect of  Christians  should  lead  you  to  a  more  sim- 
ple dependence  upon  Christ,  you  will  be  a  gainer 
in  the  end.  Too  many  friends,  and  too  much  at- 
tention, might  do  you  injury,  by  leading  you  to  de- 
pend too  much  upon  an  arm  of  flesh. 

2.  Many  are  discouraged  by  witnessing  the  low 
state  of  religion  among  professors.  They  see 
no  counterpart  to  their  anxiety  among  those  who 
have  long  borne  the  Christian  name.  While  they 
themselves  are  crying  "  what  shall  I  do  to  be 
saved,"  they  hear  little  from  the  lips  of  many  of 
the  members  and  deacons  of  our  churches,  but, 
what  shall  we  eat  or  drink  ;  Avherewithal  shall  we 
be  clothed  ;  what  is  the  news  of  the  day,  or  what 
is  the  state  of  trade?  They  see  so  much  worldly- 
miudedness,  so  much  imperfection  of  temper,  so 
many  things  unworthy  of  the  Christian  character, 
that  they  can  scarcely  believe  there  is  a  reality  in 
religion,  and  are  sometimes  ready  to  give  all  up  as 
a  mere  name.  Nay,  from  some  of  these  very  pro- 
fessors, they  receive  plain  hints  that  they  are  too 
anxious,  too  precise,  too  earnest  and  urgent.  O  ye 
wicked  professors,  ye  child  murderers,  for  by  what 
softer  name  can  I  call  you,  in  thus  attempting  to 
strangle  the  children  of  God  in  the  birth,  I  beseech 
you  to  consider  the  mischief  you  are  doing,  and 
12* 


133  DISCOURAGEMENTS. 

abandon  this  eflfort  to  extinguish  the  solicitude  of 
souls  beginning  to  feel  the  energies  of  spiritual 
life.  And  ye  Enquirers  after  salvation,  do  not  be 
discouraged.  If  these  men  are  living  below  their 
profession,  this  is  their  business,  not  yours.  Sal- 
vation is  necessary  for  you,  whether  they  are  sin- 
cere and  earnest  in  seeking  it  or  not.  It  will  be 
no  compensation  for  the  loss  of  your  soul,  to  think 
that  they  lost  theirs.  If  there  were  not  yet  one 
real  Christian,  this  would  be  no  excuse  for  your 
neglecting  to  become  one.  Look  into  the  Bible, 
rather  than  to  the  Church  of  Christ.  Instead  of 
giving  up  the  matter,  you  should  gather  this  infer- 
ence from  what  you  see,  that  it  is  no  easy  thing  to 
be  a  Christian.  Should  the  bad  tempers,  the  un- 
worthy conduct  of  professors,  induce  you  to  relin- 
quish the  pursuit  of  salvation,  it  will  be  poor  con- 
solation in  the  bottomless  pit,  to  look  back  upon 
the  cause  of  your  ruin. 

3.  You  are  perhaps  discouraged  by  the  prospect 
of  opposition  from  your  nearest  friends.  You 
see  them  all  worldly,  and  plainly  perceive  that 
your  real  conversion  to  God,  will  place  you  in  di- 
rect opposition  to  them:  that  your  becoming  a 
Christian,  and  acting  as  such,  will  bring  into  your 
house  the  scene  described  by  our  Lord. — Matt.  x. 
34 — 38.  "  O,"  say  you,  "  how  fearful  is  the  pros- 
pect before  me,  my  piety  will  sound  a  note  of  dis- 
cord in  a  family  where  all  has  been  peace  till  now, 
although  a  peace  founded  on  a  common  disregard 


DISCOUEA  CEMENTS.  139 

of  religion,  and  will  introduce  confusion  and  strife 
where  all  has  been  union  and  harmony."  "  I  must 
brave  the  anger  of  my  husband,"  says  the  wife, 
"  and  perhaps  alienate  that  heart  on  which  my 
spirit  has  hitherto  reposed  with  such  delight."— 
Or  says  the  child,  "  I  must  seem  to  be  disobedien 
to  a  parent,  whom  I  have  hitherto  found  it  to  be 
my  duty  and  bliss  to  obey.  O,  can  I  do  it?  Is 
there  no  other  way  to  heaven,  are  there  no  milder 
terms  of  submission  to  the  authority  of  Christ  1" 
None,  none,  whatever.  I  do  not  conceal  that  it  is 
an  awful  alternative.  I  should  be  destitute  of  all 
sympathy,  my  friend,  if  I  did  not  feel  for  you. 
But  I  dare  not  withdraw  the  cross.  My  soul 
would  perish  with  yours,  if  I  successfully  attempt- 
ed to  persuade  you  that  in  your  circumstances,  re- 
pentance, faith,  the  love  of  God,  and  all  the  other 
graces  and  virtues  included  in  decided  spiritual  re- 
ligion, could  be  dispensed  with.  God  will  not, 
cdnnot  relax  His  demands,  and  I  dare  not.  Hus- 
band and  wife ;  parent  and  child ;  houses  and 
lands ;  worldly  reputation  and  the  applause  of 
men,  must  all  give  place  to  him.  He  demands  the 
heart,  and  He  has  infinite  compensation  to  make 
for  all  you  sacrifice  for  Him.  He  will  make  the 
crown  infinitely  more  valuable  than  the  cross  is 
terrible.  You  may  be,  you  ought  to  be,  discreet 
in  your  profession  ;  you  must  avoid  all  unnecessa- 
ry opposition  to  the  wishes  of  unconverted  rela- 
tives ;  you  should,  if  possible,  be  ten  times  more 


140  DISgOUBAGEMENTS. 

obliging,  more  devoted,  more  sweetly  kind  in  all 
other  matters ;  you  should  return  good  for  evil ; 
you  should  exhibit  the  most  undisturbed  meek- 
ness ;  you  should  try  to  conquer  violence  by  pa- 
tience, but,  you  must  not,  you  dare  not,  give  up 
your  convictions  ;  you  must  be  willing  to  die  of  a 
broken  heart,  and  by  the  wrongs  of  persecution, 
rather  than  give  up  your  pursuit  of  salvation.  Trust 
in  God,  He  will  support  you.  If  he  call  you  to 
be  a  martyr  in  this  way,  he  will  first  give  you  a 
martyr's  faith,  and  then  a  martyr's  crown.  Let 
the  following  impressive  fact  be  read  by  you  with 
solemn  aAve.      "  An  accomplished   and   amiable 

young  woman,   in  the  town  of ,  had  beea 

deeply  afflicted  by  a  sense  of  her  spiritual  danger. 
She  was  the  only  child  of  a  fond  and  affectionate 
parent.  The  deep  impressions  which  accompa- 
nied her  discovery  of  guilt  and  depravity,  awaken 
ed  all  the  jealousies  of  the  father.  He  dreaded 
the  loss  of  that  sprighlliness  and  vivacity  which 
constituted  the  life  of  his  domestic  circle.  He 
was  startled  by  the  answers  which  his  questions 
elicited ;  while  he  foresaw,  or  thought  he  foresaw, 
an  encroachment  on  the  hitherto  unbroken  tran- 
quillity of  a  deceived  heart.  Efforts  were  made  to 
remove  the  cause  of  disquietude;  but  they  were 
such  efforts  as  unsanctified  wisdom  directed.  The 
Bible  at  last— O  how  little  may  a  parent  know  the 
far-reaching  of  tiie  deed,  when  he  snatches  the 
word  of  lif€  from  the  hand  of  a  child  ! — the  Bible, 


DISCOU  RAGE  JIENTS.  141 

and  other  books  of  religion,  were  removed  from 
her  possession,  and  their  place  was  supplied  by 
works  of  fiction.  An  excursion  of  pleasure  was 
proposed  and  declined ;  an  offer  of  gayer  amuse- 
ment shared  the  same  fate;  promises,  remon- 
strances, and  threatenings,  followed.  But  the  fa- 
ther's infatuated  perseverance  at  last  brought  com- 
pliance. Alas,  how  little  may  a  parent  be  aware 
that  he  is  adorning  his  offspring  with  the  fillets  of 
death,  and  leading  to  the  sacrifice  like  a  follower 
of  Moloch.  The  end  was  accomplished  ;  all 
thoughts  of  piety,  and  all  concern  for  the  immortal 
future,  vanished  together.  But,  O,  how,  in  less 
than  a  year,  was  the  gaudy  deception  exploded ! 
The  fascinating  and  gay  L-- M ,  was  pros- 
trated by  a^  fever,  that  bade  defiance  to  medical 
skill.  The  approach  of  death  was  unequivocal, 
and  the  countenance  of  every  attendant  fell,  as  if 
they  had  heard  the  flight  of  his  arrow.  I  see,  even 
now,  that  look  directed  to  the  father,  by  the  dying 
martyr  of  folly.  The  glazing  eye  was  dim  in  hope- 
lessness;  and  yet  there  seemed  a  something  in  its 
expiring  rays,  that  told  reproof,  and  tenderness,  and 
terror,  in  the  same  glance.  And  that  voice — its 
tone  was  decided,  but  sepulchral  still. — '  My  fa 
ther !  Last  year  I  would  have  sought  the  Redeem- 
er. Fath — er — your  child  is.' — Eternity  heard  the 
remainder  of  the  sentence ;  for  it  was  not  uttered 
in  time."*  In  connexion  with  this  striking  fact, 
*  "Letters  to  a  Friend." 


142  DISCOURAGEMENTS. 

read  the  following  portions  of  scripture.  Matthew 
V.  10—12.  X.  21—39.  1  Cor.  iv.  9—13.  2  Tim. 
ii.  10—13.  Heb.  x.  23—39.  Heb.  xi.  1  Pet.  i. 
6—9.  iv.  12—19.  2  Pet.  ii.  20,  22.  Rev.  vii.  9— 
17. 

4.  The  discouragements  of  others  lie  nearer 
home  still,  they  find  them  all  in  their  own  hearts. 
The  feeling  with  many  is,  that  they  make  no  pro- 
gress ;  their  views  gain  nothing  in  clearness,  their 
convictions  in  depth,  nor  their  heart  in  peace. 
They  are  neither  more  convinced,  nor  more  com- 
forted ;  neither  more  spiritual  nor  more  decided 
than  they  were ;  and  they  are  sometimes  seized 
with  fits  of  hopeless  despondency,  and  are  ready  to 
give  up  the  whole  matter.  Such  a  state  of  mind 
is  very  common  and  a  very  perilous  one,  and  af- 
fords ground  for  real  alarm.  Your  duty  and  safety 
lie  in  considering  that  the  fault  is  in  yourself  and 
not  in  God  ;  you,  you  are  to  blame  ;  you  are  per- 
haps halting  between  two  opinions ;  you  are  still 
probably  endeavouring  to  compromise  between 
religion  and  the  world :  you  are  not  giving  that 
fixed  devoted  attention  to  the  subject  which  it 
demands.  You  must  therefore  go  afresh  to  the 
work.  You  must  feel  just  like  a  man  who  has 
been  swimming  in  a  tide  that  is  bearing  him  fur- 
ther from  the  shore,  and  who  feels  that  it  is  ne- 
cessary to  make  more  vigorous  efforts,  or  ha  is 
inevitably  lost.  Give  up  !  !  No,  any  thing  but 
that.     To  perish  now,  would  be  to  perish  terribly 


DISCOURAGEMENTS.  143 

While  you  are  carrying  on  these  heartless  efforts, 
you  may  die,  and  in  what  a  state!  But  perhaps 
your  complaints  are  the  result  of  that  deep  anxiety, 
which  makes  you  think  there  is  no  advance  till 
you  are  really  established  in  the  full  knowledge 
of  faith  and  hope  of  the  gospel.  To  this  es- 
tablished state  you  ought  to  come,  and  to  come 
without  delay,  and  nothing  hinders  you  from 
coming  to  it,  but  an  evil  heart  of  unbelief,  and  to 
this  point  I  press  you  to  come.  But  should  not 
your  knowledge  grow  as  rapidly,  nor  your  peace 
increase  as  solidly  as  you  expected  or  desired  ; 
should  you  feel  yourself  slow  of  growth  in  all  that 
appertains  to  Christian  and  happy  experience,  do 
not  sink  into  a  heartless  and  wretched  frame ;  a 
kind  of  desponding  pursuit  of  salvation,  as  of  an 
object  you  were,  never  likely  to  obtain.  What  you 
should  do  is  immediately  to  repent,  and  believe  the 
gospel  as  your  next  business  ;  you  cannot  come  to 
enlarged  views  and  to  settled  peace  without  this. 
Going  back,  or  gif  ing  up,  is  just  the  last  thing  you 
should  think  of  To  turn  back  now,  would  be  to 
turn  back  when  near  the  cross.  Look  up,  sinner, 
the  stupendous  object  is  before  you,  close  by  you ; 
look  up  at  the  Crucified  One.  It  is  further  back  to 
your  former  state  of  indifference  than  to  the  place 
of  refuge.  Just  as  you  are,  with  no  more  know- 
ledge, no  more  religious  feeling,  no  more  comfort, 
believe.  Look  up,  I  say,  again,  at  the  cross ;  it  is 
distinctly  visible  to  the  eye  of  faith  from  every 


144  DISCOURAGEMENTS. 

point  of  the  road  along  which  you  are  journeying, 
and  may  be  viewed  any  moment  by  him  who  will 
look  that  way.  It  is  the  sight  of  that  dear  object 
that  will  present  every  other  in  a  right  light,  and 
invigorate  every  grace  that  belongs  to  true  re- 
ligion. 

But  may  it  not  be  that  your  obstructions  to  a 
more  rapid  growth,  arise  from  some  specific  cause  1 
Is  not  some  sin  indulged,  some  corruption  che- 
rished ?  Is  there  not  some  sacrifice  which  you  are 
■Unwilling  to  make,  something  which  you  are  un- 
willing to  surrender,  although  your  judgment  tells 
you  the  surrender  ought  to  be  made,  and  your  con- 
science demands  it  ?  You  must  give  up  the  for- 
bidden thing,  or  your  growth  in  grace  is  impossible : 
that  one  sin  will,  like  a  concealed  worm  at  the 
root  of  a  flower,  eat  out  the  very  life  of  your  re- 
ligion, and  cause  it  to  droop,  wither,  and  die.  Is  it 
a  companion  from  whom  you  are  unwilling  to 
separate,  but  whose  society  is  hindering  your  pro 
gress  ?  And  will  you  sacrifice  your  soul's  salvation, 
heaven,  and  eternal  glory,  all  that  is  dear  to  you 
as  an  immortal  creature,  and  deliberately  choose 
everlasting  perdition,  for  that  sin,  or  that  friend  ? 
Take  your  choice  between  heaven  and  sacrifice, 
hell  and  present  gratification.  Immortal  man ! 
Pause  and  ponder :  canst  thou  hesitate  ?  There 
is  both  awful  guilt  and  imminent  peril  in  every 
moment's  delay.  What  if  God  should,  as  he  justly 
may,  send  forth  the  command,  "  He  is  tied  to  idols ; 


DISCOURAGEMENTS.  145 

let  him  alone."  Decide  then,* decide  at  once.  The 
moment  in  which  thou  readest  this  page  may  de- 
cide it ;  for  if  tliQU  art  unwilling  to  give  up  thy 
sinful  practice,  or  sinful  companion,  God  may 
from  this  moment  give  up  thee. 

But,  perhaps,  the  slowness  of  your  growth  ia 
knowledge  and  in  grace,  may  arise  from  another 
cause,  I  mean  your  neglect  of  the  promised  in- 
fluence and  help  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  You  have 
been  too  self-confident,  and  are  now  feeling  the 
consequence  of  it.  At  one  time,  perhaps,  your  im- 
pressions were  deep,  your  convictions  strong,  your 
frame  lively,  and  your  feelings  much  excited  ;  and 
you  have  suffered  yourself  to  be  seduced  by  Satan, 
who  took  advantage  of  these  things,  into  a  spirit 
of  self-confidence  and  self-dependence.  You  have 
forgotten  that  in  you  there  is  no  good  thing ;  and 
have  forsaken  the  fountain  of  living  waters.  You 
have  never  doubted  the  necessity  of  the  Spirit's 
influence,  but  you  have  neglected  "it.  You  have 
grieved  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  he  has  suspended 
that  gracious  aid  which  you  so  little  valued.  You 
have  striven,  but  it  has  been  in  your  own  strength  : 
and  now  you  find  that  strength  to  be  weakness 
itself.  Now  then,  profit  by  your  error,  and  com- 
mit your  soul,  not  only  into  the  hands  of  Christ 
for  pardon,  but  into  the  hands  of  the  Spirit  fo 
sanctification.  Now  lean  upon  that  Divine  power, 
which  worketh  in  us  both  to  will  and  to  do.  Live 
in  the  Spirit ;  walk  in  the  Spirit ;  pray  in  the 
13 


14«  DISCOURAGEMENTS. 

Spirit  5  strive  in  the  Spirit.  Open  your  heart  to 
his  gracious  influence ;  and  let  it  be  a  feeling,  as 
well  as  a  conviction,  that  your  spiritual  life  has  no 
existence  separate  from  his  indwelling  and  in- 
working  in  you. 

It  may  be,  however,  that  this  discouragement 
and  complaint  of  a  slow  growth  in  religion,  are 
altogether  unfounded,  and  are  the  result  of  disap- 
pointment operating  upon  an  humble  or  a  sanguine 
mind.  You  may  have  expected  at  once  to  emerge 
from  the  thick  darkness  of  an  unconverted  state, 
into  the  very  noontide  brightness  of  a  full  establish- 
ment in  faith,  hope,  and  love.  You  expected, 
probably,  by  one  stride,  or  rather  bound,  to  reach 
the  position  of  experienced  Christians.  But,  re- 
member, that  both  in  nature  and  in  grace,  the 
works  of  God  come  gradually  to  maturity.  There 
is  first  the  babe ;  then  the  young  man ;  then  the 
adult :  and  what  a  feeble  glimmering  spark  of  life 
is  there  sometimes  in  a  new-born  child  ;  it  is  diffi- 
cult to  determine  whether  it  is  alive  or  dead  ;  and 
even  when  unequivocal  signs  of  life  appear,  what 
vigilant  care  is  necessary,  to  preserve  the  spark 
from  being  extinguished.  Such  has  been  the  un- 
promising condition  in  which  many  a  strong  and 
long  lived  man  has  commenced  his  existence.  How 
analogous  to  this  is  the  work  of  grace  in  the  soul. 
So  again  with  the  growth  of  corn,  there  is  first  the 
blade  ;  then  the  stalk ;  then  the  ear  :  and  as  it  is 
m  the  field  of  nature,  so  is  the  growth  of  religion 


DISCOU  R  A  G  n  M  ENTS.  147 

ia  the  heart  of  man.  We  must  not  despise  the 
day  of  small  things,  either  in  ourselves  or  others, 
for  God  does  not.  It  is  said  of  our  Divine  Re- 
deemer, he  shall  feed  his  flock  like  a  shepherd ; 
and  in  his  flock  there  are  lambs  which  can  neither 
travel  fast  nor  far ;  and  what  will  he  do  with 
them  ?  He  shall  gather  them  with  his  arms,  and 
lay  them  in  his  bosom ;  not  on  his  shoulder,  the 
emblem  of  strength,  but  in  his  bosom,  the  image 
of  tender  love  ;  and  he  shall  gently  lead  those  that 
are  with  young ;  those  that  are  burdened  with 
many  fears,  and  painful  apprehensions.  How 
kindly  did  he  forbear  with  the  dulness,  and  infirm- 
ities, and  mistakes  of  his  disciples ;  how  gently 
did  he  correct  the  errors,  and  sustain  the  minds  of 
the  two  friends  on  their  sad  and  gloomy  walk  to 
Emmaus,  and  kept  alive  the  last  glimmering  spark 
of  hope  just  when  it  was  ready  to  expire  in  their 
bosom.  How  graciously  in  his  addresses  to  the 
seven  churches  in  Asia,  did  he  mention  all  the 
good  he  could  find  among  them,  not  overlooking 
even  the  "  little  strength,"  that  was  left  in  that  of 
Philadelphia.  Think  of  this,  disheartened  En- 
quirer. Thy  dawn  of  knowledge  shall  shine 
brighter  and  brighter  unto  the  perfect  day ;  thy 
infantine  strength  will  grow  to  manly  power ;  thy 
tender  blade  of  piety  shall  become  the  full  corn  in 
the  ear.  Thou  art  looking  to  a  Saviour,  who 
"  will  not  break  the  bruised  reed,  nor  quench  the 
smoking  flax,"     Weak  grace  is  real  grace,  and  is 


148  DISCOURAGEMENTS. 

in  connexion  with  an  infinite  source  in  his  fulness, 
who  is  the  God  of  all  grace,  and  who  givcth  more 
grace.  It  is  well  to  be  humble,  and  to  think  mean- 
ly of  your  attainments,  but  remember,  trees  are  not 
dead  because  they  are  not  laden  at  once  with  fruit ; 
their  roots  may  be  striking  deeper  in  the  soil,  when 
their  branches  are  not  making  vigorous  shoots  into 
the  air.  I  say  not  these  things  to  paralyze  your 
exertions  after  greater  attainments,  for  he  who  is 
satisfied  with  the  grace  he  has,  has  in  reality  none ; 
but  to  check  despondency,  and  prevent  that  dis- 
heartening sense  of  deficiency,  which  benumbs  ex- 
ertion, by  extinguishing  hope. 

5.  Great  discouragement  has  been  experienced 
by  others,  on  account  of  relapses  and  backslidinga 
into  actual  sins. 

It  is,  I  admit,  a  grievous  aggravation  of  sin  to 
fall  into  it  after  men  have  been  awakened  and  con- 
vinced :  and  as  there  is  much  danger  of  this,  the 
word  of  God  contains  many  awful  warnings  against 
it,  which  have  been  already  referred  to.  We 
pught,  therefore,  to  use  the  greatest  watchfulness, 
and  to  present  the  most  fervent  prayer  to  be  kept 
from  these  sins ;  and  our  vigilance  should  be 
doubled,  in  regard  to  those  temptations  to  which 
we  are  most  exposed  from  the  peculiarity  of  our 
constitution,  situation,  or  any  other  circumstances. 
Yet  sometimes  even  they^  who  have  sincerely  and 
earnestly  engaged  in  the  pursuit  of  salvation,  have 
been,  through  a  want  of  watchfulness,  betrayed 


DISCOURAGEMENTS.  149 

again  into  those  sins,  from  which  they  had  been 
delivered.  In  such  cases  the  backslider,  under  the 
united  influence  of  remorse  and  despondency,  is 
apt  to  give  up  all  for  lost,  and  under  the  idea  that 
he  shall  never  gain  salvation,  renounce  the  further 
pursuit  of  it.  Now  I  would  say  to  you,  that  while 
you  cannot  be  too  deeply  humbled  for  such  re- 
lapses, you  ought  not  to  think  that  your  case  is 
desperate.  If  such  sins  could  not  be  pardoned, 
and  such  sinners  could  not  be  restored,  who  then 
could  be  saved  ?  "  But  it  is  not  so  much  a  doubt 
of  pardon  for  the  past,"  you  say,  "  that  discour- 
ages you,  as  a  fear  of  preservation  for  the  future." 
You  find  your  hearts  so  treacherous,  your  purposes 
so  frail,  your  corruptions  so  strong,  and  your  temp- 
tations so  great ;  you  have  been  so  often  victorious, 
and  then  again  so  often  conquered,  that  you  quite 
despair  of  success.  What  mean  those  desponding 
expressions?  They  seem  to  say,  either  there  is 
no  help  for  you  but  in  yourselves,  or  that  God,  who 
must  be  your  helper,  is  not  able  to  deliver  you. 
Both  are  false.  There  is  no  help  at  all  in  you, 
but  there  is  all-sufficient  help  in  God.  Courage, 
sinner,  take  courage,  God  is  Almighty.  Humble 
yourself  under  his  mighty  hand  for  the  past,  and 
then  rise  up  and  lean  upon  his  mighty  arm  for  the 
future.  The  blood  of  Christ  can  cleanse  the  con 
science  from  the  guilt  of  past  sin,  and  the  grace  o 
the  Holy  Spirit  can  preserve  you  from  the  com- 
mission of  future  sin  ;  the  backsliding  can  be  for- 
13* 


150  DISCOURAGEMENTS. 

«•$;  given,  and  the  backslider  himself  restored,  strength- 
ened, confirmed,  and  made  more  than  conqueror, 
as  thousands  already  have  been. 


CHAPTER   IX. 


CAUTIONS. 

1.  Do  not  seek  to  relieve  your  solicitude,  or  set- 
tle your  religious  peace,  by  joining  yourself  to 
the  church,  and  receiving  the  sacrament. 

This  is  done  by  many  persons,  who,  after  having 
remained  for  a  long  time  in  unrelieved  solicitude, 
and  after  having  tried  all  methods  but  the  right 
one,  for  gaining  peace,  determine  to  enter  into 
church  fellowship,  and  to  receive  the  Lord's  Sup- 
per, with  the  hope  of  obtaining  that  comfort,  which 
they  have  hitherto  sought  in  vain.  But  does  not 
this  look  like  a  self-righteous  dependence  upon  du- 
ties ?  In  what  way  can  the  sacrament  give  relief 
lo  a  burdened  conscience  1  Is  there  any  thing 
more  meritorious  in  that  ordinance  than  in  any 
other  ?  Perhaps  you  say,  that  the  emblems  of  the 
body  and  blood  of  our  Lord  will  more  deeply  and 
powerfully  impress  the  mind  through  the  medium 
of  the  senses.  So  they  will ;  .but  then  the  mind 
must  be  in  a  state  of  knowledge  and  faith  to  re- 
ceive the  impression :  but  I  am  now  supposing  that 
you  are  not  yet  in  that  state,  that  you  have  never 


162  CAUTIONS. 

yet  committed  your  soul  into  the  hands  of  Christ 
for  a  full  and  free  salvation ;  and  in  such  a  state 
of  mind,  to  go  to  the  sacrament  or  the  church  for 
peace,  is  to  expect  that  they  can  do  that  for  you, 
which  the  work  of  Christ  cannot  do.  Is  not  the 
blood  of  Christ  able  to  take  away  your  sins  ?  Is 
any  thing  necessary  to  be  added  to  the  righteous- 
ness of  the  Saviour  for  your  justification  1  What 
can  the  sacrament  do  for  you,  if  this  be  insuflBcient 
to  save  you?  The  sinner  that  seeks  to  lose  his 
burden  of  guilt  any  where,  whether  it  be  in  the 
prayer  meeting,  or  the  sacramental  table,  besides  the 
cross  of  Christ,  is  in  delusion.  It  is  possible,  nay 
probable,  that  by  going  to  the  Lord's  supper,  you 
may  feel  for  the  time  an  abatement  of  your  solici- 
tude ;  your  imagination  may  be  excited  ;  your  feel- 
ings moved  ;  and  mistaking  this  for  faith,  you  may 
have  peace ;  but  it  will  be  a  false  or  a  transient 
one.  Either  you  will  fall  asleep  in  self  deception, 
or  your  anxiety  will  soon  return,  increased  by  an 
apprehension  that  you  have  added  sin  to  sin,  by 
receiving  the  Lord's  supper  in  an  unprepared  state 
of  mind.  This  institute  is  intended,  not  to  give 
peace  to  sinners,  but  consolation  and  edification  to 
believers  ;  not  to  bring  us  into  a  state  of  faith,  but 
to  be  received  in  faith  ;  not  to  remove  the  burden 
of  sin  from  the  conscience,  but  to  keep  in  remem- 
brance that  great  sacrifice  by  which  the  burden  is 
removed.  True  it  is,  that  God  may  reveal  himself 
to  the  sinner  in  the  breaking  of  bread  ;  but  the 


CAUTIONS.  153 

question  is  not  what  he  may  do,  but  what  he  may 
be  expected  to  do ;  and  even  in  this  case  what  is 
it  that  relieves  the  conscience  of  its  burden,  and 
gives  peace  to  the  mind  ?  Surely  not  the  sacra- 
ment itself,  but  the  great  truth  of  Christ's  sacri- 
fice for  sin,  as  set  forth  by  it.  I  do  not  intend  by 
these  remarks  to  insist  on  the  necessity  of  a  full 
assurance  of  hope,  as  a  necessary  qualification  for 
a  right  reception  of  the  Lord's  Supper ;  but  cer- 
tainly there  ought  to  be  real,  even  if  it  be  but 
weak,  faith  5  for  how  else  can  we  discern  the 
Lord's  body  1  Nothing,  no,  nothing,  can  give  the 
guilty  conscience  peace,  or  talce  away  our  sins,  but 
the  atoning  blood  of  Christ;  and  to  pass  by  the 
cross  of  the  Redeemer,  without  peace  of  mind,  in 
the  hope  of  finding  it  in  the  sacrament,  is  unques- 
tionably to  depend  for  acceptance  with  God  upon 
our  own  religious  duties,  instead  of  the  work  of  the 
Saviour.  The  frame  of  mind  in  which  we  should 
receive  the  memorials  of  redeeming  love,  is  that  of 
a  humble,  thankful,  and  peaceful  reliance  upon  the 
mediation  of  our  Divine  Lord  for  pardon  and  eter 
nal  life. 

2.  It  is  of  great  consequence,  that  in  the  early 
stages  of  your  religious  experience,  you  should  ab- 
stain as  much  as  possible  from  a  spirit  of  con- 
troversy. 

Your  great  concern  is  to  find  out  the  path  of 
eternal  happiness,  and  enter  upon  it.  Salvation  is 
your  great  object,  or  rather  the  way  of  obtaining  it. 


154  CAUTIONS. 

Your  cry  is,  "  life,  eternal  life  ;"  and  your  course 
should  be  direct  to  the  cross  of  the  Redeemer. 
Nothing  but  what  relates  immediately  to  your  re- 
conciliation with  God,  should  be  allowed  to  en- 
gage your  attention.  Suffer  not  your  mind  then  to 
be  diverted  from  such  subjects,  as  the  "  new 
birth,"  or  the  justification  of  your  soul  before  God, 
to  the  thorny  controversies  of  baptism,  church 
government,  or  even  of  the  doctrines  of  theology- 
Take  up  nothing  controversially.  The  subjects  of 
disputation  are  strong  meat  for  adults,  which  will 
choke  and  destroy  the  babe  in  Christ ;  and  even 
the  former  cannot  feed  much  upon  it,  without 
having  their  spiritual  health  impaired,  and  their 
soul  filled  with  rank  and  unhealthy  humours.  Or, 
to  change  the  metaphor,  the  man  locked  up  in  the 
condemned  cell,  under  sentence  of  death,  but  who 
has  hope  of  pardon  and  is  taking  steps  to  obtain  it, 
suffers  not  his  mind  to  be  drawn  aside  from  his 
condition,  by  the  questions  which  may  be  very  pro- 
perly discussed  by  the  citizen  and  the  patriot.  If 
any  one  were  to  carry  him  a  newspaper,  and  en- 
deavour to  engage  him  as  a  partizan  in  some 
political  strife,  he  would  reply,  with  a  look  of  as- 
tonishment that  such  topics  should  be  obtruded  on 
his  notice,  "  What  are  these  matters  to  a  man  con- 
demned to  die  ?  Assist  me  in  gaining  a  pardon, 
and  you  will  do  me  some  service  ;  but  do  not  en- 
gage for  such  matters  a  moment  of  that  time  which 
should  be  devoted  to  save  me  from  death.    When 


CAUTIONS.  165 

I  am  restored  to  liberty,  I  can  think  of  politics,  but 
not  now."  So  let  the  Enquirer  act  and  say,  in  re- 
ference to  these  proselyting  but  injudicious  zealots, 
who  by  controversy  would  meet  and  turn  away 
the  solicitude  which  is  seeking  the  way  of  salva- 
tion. You  can  study  these  topics  hereafter,  but  at 
present,  "  Stand  in  the  ways,  and  see  and  ask  for 
the  old  paths,  where  is  the  good  way,  and  walk 
therein ;  and  ye  shall  find  rest  for  your  souls." — 
Jer.  vi.  16.  Read  your  Bible  and  plain  practical 
books,  rather  than  controversial  ones ;  be  much  in 
prayer,  and  silent  meditation  ;  preserve  a  tranquil 
and  unruffled  mind,  for  it  is  in  the  stillness  of  devo- 
tional feeling,  and  the  peace  of  holy  recollection, 
and  the  quiet  of  untroubled  thoughts,  that  the  true 
light  shineth  into  the  soul,  and  the  small  still  voice 
of  the  Spirit  of  Peace  is  heard.  Many,  adopting  a 
different  course,  have  plunged  into  the  depths  of 
controversy  as  soon  as  they  became  concerned 
about  religion,  and  have  lost  charity  in  the  pro- 
fessed pursuit  after  truth,  and  instead  of  becoming 
humble,  holy,  peaceful  christians,  have  turned  out 
conceited,  stormy,  and  restless  polemics ;  in  an 
early  stage  of  their  career  the  penitent  was  lost  in 
the  zealot ;  in  their  subsequent  progress  they  took 
up  with  a  religion  of  opinions,  instead  of  pious 
feelings ;  and  finished  their  course,  it  may  be  feared, 
not  amidst  the  light  and  love  of  heaven,  but  in  that 
world  of  unsanctified  knowledge,  where  the  devils 
believe  and  tremble. 


15«.  CAUTIONS. 

3.  It  is  necessary  to  caution  you  against  a  spirit 
of  curiosity  as  well  as  controversy. 

You  ought  to  seek  after  knowledge,  as  I  have 
already  stated.  The  scripture  abounds  in  admo- 
nitions on  this  head,  and  in  reproofs  to  those  who 
repose  in  indolence  upon  the  lap  of  ignorance. 
Diligence  in  endeavours  to  grow  in  knowledge, 
has  the  promise  of  success.  "  Then  shall  ye 
know  if  ye  follow  on  to  know  the  Lord."  Hosea 
vi.  3.  But  this  is  altogether  distinct  from  a  spirit 
of  unhallowed  curiosity.  The  temper  which  I  am 
anxious  to  guard  you  against,  shows  itself  in  various 
ways;  sometimes  in  rambling  about  from  place 
to  place  of  public  worship.  In  some  cases  this 
arises  from  that  restlessness  and  uneasiness  of 
mind,  which  is  common  to  persons  in  their  first  re- 
ligious experience.  Like  Noah's  raven  they  wan 
der  about  seeking  rest,  but  find  none  ;  or  rather 
like  a  person  in  a  fever,  forgetting  that  the  cause 
of  disquietude  is  in  themselves,  they  continually 
change  their  place  in  the  vain  hope  of  obtaining 
that  rest,  which  can  never  come  till  their  condi- 
tion is  altered.  Finding  no  comfort  under  one 
preacher,  they  impute  the  blame  to  his  sermons, 
and  ramble  off  to  another,  under  whose  ministry 
they  gain  a  little  ease  for  awhile ;  but  merely  by 
having  their  attention  drawn  away  for  a  season 
from  its  usual  track  of  thought.  The  novelty  soon 
ceases,  and  he  is  forsaken  for  another,  till  they 
have  gone  the  whole  round  of  places  within  their 


CAUTIONS.  l&T" 

reach,  and  they  leave  the  last  as  far  from  peace  as 
they  were  when  they  left  the  first.  Guard  against 
this  error,  and  learn  that  it  is  in  Christ,  and  Christ 
alone,  and  not  in  any  particular  place,  or  worship, 
or  under  any  particular  ministry,  that  you  can  find 
rest  and  peace.  It  is  the  glorious  doctrine  of  a 
free,  full,  and  present  salvation  in  Christ,  that 
must  be  the  pillow  of  your  poor  aching  and  restless 
head,  and  not  any  particular  manner  or  method  of 
representing  that  doctrine. 

But  this  rambling  spirit  is  sometimes  th&mere 
itch  of  curiosity.  Some  young  converts  are  ever 
to  be  seen  in  any  place,  where  any  thing  out  of  the 
ordinary  course  is  going  on ;  they  are  to  be  seen  at 
all  times,  all  places,  and  all  occasions,  when  and 
where  a  popular  preacher  is  to  be  heard,  or  any  of 
the  stimulating  varieties  which  abound  in  the  reli- 
gious world  are  to  be  found.  This  habit,  however, 
is  not  friendly  to  the  growth  of  religious  feeling, 
or  the  progress  of  a  work  of  grace  in  the  soul. 
Even  the  public  meetings  of  our  religious  insti- 
tutions are  not  altogether  the  test  atmosphere  for 
infant  piety  to  breathe.  There  is  a  tenderness,  a 
delicacy,  and  a  pensiveness,  in  the  feelings  of  a 
mind  recently  awakened  to  a  state  of  religious  con- 
cern, which  finds  little  that  is  congenial  in  the 
comparatively  secular  aspect  of  those  assemblies. 
Eloquence  and  anecdote,  as  they  are  usually  em- 
ployed on  such  occasions,  have  but  little  that  is 
calculated  to  deepen  conviction  or  relieve  anxiety, 
14 


168  OA0TIONS. 

I 

but  often  much  to  diminish  the  one,  and  divert  the 
other.  If,  indeed,  our  anniversaries  were,  or  could 
be,  conducted  with  that  solemnity  and  seriousness 
which  their  object  seems  to  require,  then  might 
Enquirers  after  salvation  attend  them  as  one  of 
the  means  of  grace ;  but  perhaps  this  can  hardly 
be  looked  for,  and  therefore  do  I  deliberately  say 
to  them,  do  not  at  present  trust  yourselves  much 
at  such  meetings ;  you  ought  rather  to  court  retire- 
ment, to  nurse  reflection,  to  seek  to  grow  in  deeper 
seriousness,  and  to  surrender  yourselves  to  the 
dominion  of  conscience,  and  the  teaching  of  God 
the  Holy  Spirit.  Your  present  business,  is  your 
own  salvation,  and  when  you  have  found  that,  and 
as  one  of  the  evidences  of  having  found  it,  you 
must  feel  anxious  for  the  salvation  of  others,  and 
unite  with  your  fellow-christians  in  the  various 
schemes  of  benevolent  enterprise. 

But  curiosity  may  be  indulged  in  another  way ;  I 
mean  a  disposition  to  pry  into  the  deep  mysteries, 
the  hidden  things,  the  unrevealed  secrets  of  God. 
Even  the  most  established  Christians,  yea,  the  pro- 
foundest  and  most  philosophic  divines,  may  and 
do  sometimes  push  their  enquiries  too  far,  and  pre- 
sumptuously put  forth  their  hand  to  draw  aside 
the  veil  of  the  Holy  of  Holies.  But  you  espe- 
cially should  abstain  from  this;  such  questions 
as  the  origin  of  moral  evil ;  the  reconcilableness 
of  Grod's  foreknowledge  with  the  freedom  of  man; 
the  divine  decrees  ;  the  symbolical  and  unfulfilled 


CAUTIONS.  169 

prophecies,  with  other  subjects  of  equal  diflSculty, 
are  most  unsuitable  for  you  in  your  present  state 
of  mind.  What  you  have  to  do  with  is  the  sim- 
plest and  plainest  truths  of  the  gospel.  Your  con- 
cern is  to  obtain  pardon,  peace,  and  hope ;  and  to 
do  this  you  must  not  raise  mists  and  clouds  of  meta- 
physics around  the  cross,  but  look  at  it  as  it  is  pre- 
sented in  the  word  of  God ;  and  as  it  there  appears, 
clearly,  simply  and  alone.  It  has  been  said,  that 
in  the  scripture,  there  are  depths  in  which  an  ele- 
phant may  swim,  and  shallows  which  a  lamb  may 
ford ;  your  business  is  at  present  with  the  shallows, 
and  to  venture  into  the  depths  is  a  perilous  attempt, 
which  I  would  not  advise  you  to  make. 

4.  You  should  beware  of  setting  up  other  stan- 
dards of  personal  religion,  than  the  word  of 
God,  and  making  the  religious  experience  of 
other  Christians  a  test  of  the  truth  and  reality 
of  your  own. 

The  Bible,  and  the  Bible  alone,  is  the  true  stand- 
ard of  godliness,  and  provided  your  views,  feelings, 
and  conduct,  are  conformed  to  this,  it  is  of  no  con- 
sequence that  they  do  not  harmonize  exactly,  with 
what  others  experience.  Not  that  there  is  any  ra- 
dical disagreement  in  the  real  piety  of  genuine 
Christians ;  but  with  substantial  agreement,  there 
may  be  circumstantial  differences;  there  may  be 
unity  of  genus,  yet  variety  of  species.  All  true 
Christians  love  God,  hate  sin,  feel  Christ  pre- 
cious, addict  themselves  to  prayer,  live  holy  5  but 


180  CAUTIONS. 

they  may  not  have  been  brought  to  this  state  by 
the  same  methods,  nor  carry  it  forward  to  the  same 
degree  of  perfection.  In  reading  religious  biogra- 
phy, you  will  see  great  dissimilarity  in  the  expe- 
rience of  God's  people,  and  will  be  sometimes  in 
danger  of  sinking  into  great  distress,  because  you 
do  not  feel  in  all  points  as  the  saints  did,  whose 
lives  are  before  you.  When  you  meet  with  in- 
stances of  more  than  usual  elevation  of  personal 
religion,  of  nearer  approaches  than  common  to 
perfection,  do  not  conclude  that  you  have  no  piety 
because  you  do  not  equal  them,  but  rather  see 
what  you  may  become  ;  be  humbled  that  you  are 
no  more  like  them,  and  let  their  examples  stimu- 
late your  energies,  but  not  extinguish  your  hopes, 
nor  paralyse  your  efforts. 

5.  I  caution  you  not  to  allow  your  convictions 
to  he  shaken,  nor  your  minds  to  he  staggered  hy 
those  instances  of  backsliding  or  apostacy  which 
sometimes  occur  among  professors  of  religion, 
and  even  such  as  were  once  accounted  eminent 
professors. 

It  does  indeed  often  give  an  awful  shock  to  the 
feelings  and  the  steadfastness  of  Enquirers,  to  wit- 
ness the  falls  of  those  who  once  stood  high  in  the 
affection  of  the  church,  and  the  esteem  of  the 
world.  Not  a  few,  it  is  to  be  feared,  have  from 
that  time  gone  back,  and  walked  the  ways  of  God 
no  more.  But  how  irrational,  how  guilty  is  such 
conduct !     Did  not  Christ  forewarn  us  to  expect 


CAUTIONS.  161 

such  instances,  when  he  said,  "  Wo  to  the  world, 
because  of  offences ;  it  must  needs  be  that  offences 
will  come,  but  wo  to  that  man  by  whom  they 
come."  Matthew  xviii.  7.  Such  cases,  therefore, 
are  but  the  accomplishment  of  a  prophecy,  and 
prove,  like  other  fulfilled  predictions,  the  inspira- 
tion of  him,  by  whom  they  were  delivered.  And 
they  prove  in  another  way  also,  the  divine  origin 
of  the  Christian  religion;  for  if  it  had  not  been  of 
God,  it  must  have  been  destroyed  long  since  by 
the  misconduct  of  its  professed  friends,  from  which 
it  has  stood  in  far  greater  danger,  than  from  the 
enmity  of  its  avowed  enemies.  Counterfeits  are 
a  presumptive  proof  of  the  excellence  of  that 
which  they  profess  to  imitate,  for  who  is  at  the 
trouble  of  imitating  what  is  worthless  ?  Do  not, 
then,  permit  your  mind  to  be  affected  by  the  con- 
duct of  false  professors,  at  least  in  any  other  way 
than  that  of  deep  grief,  that  such  things  should  oc- 
cur to  them ;  and  of  anxious  prayerful  care,  that 
ihey  may  never  be  repeated  in  you.  Be  this  your 
supplication. 

Lord,  let  not  all  my  hopes  be  vain, 
Create  my  heart  entirely  new, 
"Which  hypocrites  could  ne'er  attain, 
Which  false  apostates  never  knew. 

14* 


CHAPTER   X. 


ENCOURAGEMENTS. 

Among  all  the  objects  of  human  desire  and  pur- 
suit, there  is  not  one,  which  we  have  so  much  en- 
couragement to  seek,  or  to  hope  for ;  there  is  not 
one,  in  reference  to  which,  despondency  is  so  much 
out  of  place ;  there  is  not  one,  to  which  indubitable 
certainty  so  surely  belongs — as  the  salvation  of  the 
soul,  if  it  be  sincerely  desired,  and  scripturally 
sought  for.  The  whole  Bible  is  one  vast  encour- 
agement to  seek  for  eternal  life — the  death  of 
Christ  is  another — and  the  existence  and  history  of 
the  church  of  God  upon  earih  is  a  third.  Men 
may  despond  of  gaining  wealth,  or  fame,  or  rank, 
or  health — but  no  man  out  of  hell  need  despond  of 
gaining  salvation.  It  is  nearer  to  us,  and  more 
within  our  reach,  than  any  other  blessing  that  we 
can  name  or  think  of.  Our  feelings  in  regard  to 
earthly  possessions  can  never  rise  higher  than 
hope,  but  in  regard  to  salvation,  they  may  take 
the  character  of  certainty,  provided  we  use  the 
prpper  means. 

1.  It  is  one  great  source  of  encouragement  that 


ENCOURAaEMENTS.  163 

whatever  difficulties  lie  in  our  way,  all  centre  in 
ourselves. 

God  will  not,  and  Satan  and  the  world  cannot, 
hinder  our  salvation.  There  is  no  obstacle  which 
is  in  itself  insurmountable ;  no  enemy  invincible 
no  objection  unanswerable.  If  a  man  had  any 
other  object  in  view,  for  the  attainment  of  which 
there  existed  no  difficulty  out  of  himself,  he  would 
feel  greatly  encouraged,  and  be  ready  to  congratu- 
late himself  as  tolerably  certain  of  success.  Read- 
er, the  only  difficulty  in  the  Avay  of  thy  salvation, 
is  in  thyself.  True  it  is,  there  are  many  and 
great  ones  there,  the  least  of  which  thine  own 
strength  is  too  weak  to  surmount,  but  the  Lord 
God  Omnipotent  has  engaged  to  thee  his  power, 
if  thou  art  willing  to  be  helped  ;  and  therefore  in 
this  view  of  the  case,  even  thine  own  weakness  is 
no  insurmountable  obstacle.  The  only  question 
is,  "  Art  thou  sincerely  willing  and  anxious  to  be 
saved  ?"  Once  made  truly  willing,  what  is  to  hin- 
der thy  salvation?  Dwell  again  and  again  on 
this  simple  idea,  for  it  is  full  of  encouragement, 
"  The  only  difficulty  in  my  way  to  heaven,  is  that 
which  exists  in  my  own  heart,  and  God  is  willing 
to  remove  that." 

2.  It  is  a  great  encouragement,  that  God's 
mind  is  so  full  of  good  will  towards  us,  and  that 
his  heart  is  so  set  upon  our  salvation. 

If  we  had  reason  to  suppose  that  He  was  un- 
friendly towards  us ;  that  he  was  reluctant  to  save 


IM  ENCOURAGEMENTS. 

US  ;  that  Jlis  mind  was  upon  the  balance  between 
friendship  and  hostility  ;  that  it  needed  much  im- 
portunity to  entreat  him  to  be  merciful,  and  that 
he  granted  us  salvation  unwillingly  and  grudging- 
ly— this  would  indeed  be  discouraging,  and  might 
induce  a  fear  that  we  should  not  succeed.  But  the 
contrary  is  the  fact.  "  God  is  love."  "  He  is  gra- 
cious and  full  of  compassion,"  "  is  sich  in  mercy^ 
and  plenteous  in  mercy."  He  even  "  delighteth 
in  mercy."  "  He  is  not  willing  that  any  should 
perish,  but  that  all  should  com«  to  repentance.'* 
"  He  delighteth  not  in  the  death  oi  a  sinner,  but 
would  rather  that  he  should  turn  from  his  wicked- 
ness and  live."  Yea,  he  confirms  it  by  an  oath, 
"  As  I  live,"  saith  the  Lord,  "  I  have  no  pleasure 
in  the  death  of  the  wicked." — Ezek.  xxxiii.  11. 
Yea,  it  is  said  that  the  salvation  of  sinners  is  so 
much  his  delight,  that  he  has  engaged  it  shall  be 
carried  on;  "  The  pleasure  of  the  Lord  skallpios-^ 
per  in  his  hands."  Now  by  the  pleasure  of  the 
Lord  we  are  to  understand  the  salvation  of  sin- 
ners. Nor  is  this  all,  for  it  is  affirmed,  "  That  the 
Lord  takeih  pleasure  in  them  that  hope  in  his 
mercy." — Psalm  cxlvii.  11.  We  cannot  please 
him  better,  than  by  asking  him  to  save  us,  and  by 
expecting  salvation  at  his  hands.  Now,  Enquirer, 
take  this  delightful  view  of  God's  disposition  to- 
wards you ;  for  this  is  the  right  one.  He  is  love  j 
he  has  an  infinite  propensity  to  bless ;  an  infinite 
delight  to  make  his  creatures  happy.    It  is  true  his 


JGNCOUftAQEMENTS.  165 

love  is  a  holy  love,  and  therefore  the  more  to  be 
depended  upon.  Having  made  provision  in  the 
gift  and  mediation  of  Christ  for  saving  you  in  a 
way  consistent  virith  his  truth,  and  holiness,  and 
justice,  and  thus  removed  every  obstacle  out  of 
the  way  of  the  flowing  forth  of  his  love  towards 
you,  he  is  infinitely  intent  on  saving  and  blessing 
you.  All  your  dark  desponding  thoughts  of  him 
are  unjust  and  injurious  to  his  mercy.  To  con- 
ceive of  him  as  unwilling  to  save  you,  is  a  slander 
upon  his  love  ;  a  calumny  false  and  foul  upon  his 
grace.  If  he  were  with  difficulty  persuaded  to 
save  you,  why  did  he  give  his  Son  to  die  for  you  7 
The  salvation  of  your  soul,  the  salvation  of  mil- 
lions of  souls ;  the  salvation  of  the  whole  world,  is 
not  so  great  an  act  of  love,  as  the  gift  of  Jesus 
Christ. — After  this  you  need  not  wonder  at  any 
thing,  nor  doubt  any  thing.  "  He  that  spared  not 
his  own  (proper)  son,  but  gave  him  up  for  us  all,  how 
shall  he  not  with  him  also  freely  give  us  all  things  1" 
— Rom.  viii.  32.  You  have  God's  mind,  and  heart, 
and  purpose,  and  attributes,  all  on  the  side  of  your 
salvation,  and  is  not  this  encouragement  enough? 

3.  Consider  the  mind,  character,  and  work  of 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 

He  came  on  purpose  to  save  sinners;  he  has 
done  every  thing  necessary  for  their  salvation;  he 
is  able  to  save  to  the  uttermost ;  he  has  invited  all 
to  him  for  salvation;  he  has  promised  to  save 
them :  and  will  he  now  fail  1    Think  of  the  glory 


166  ENCOURAGEMENTS. 

i 

of  his  person,  God  manifest  in  the  flesh ;  think  of 
the  design  of  his  incarnation,  sutferings,  and  death  j 
think  of  the  perfection  of  his  work  in  satisfying  di- 
vine justice,  magnifying  the  law,  sustaining  the  mo- 
ral government  of  God  in  all  its  purity,  dignity,  and 
effectiveness;  think  of  the  love  of  his  heart,  the  pow- 
er of  his  arm,  and  the  connexion  between  his  me- 
diatorial renown  and  the  salvation  of  sinners ; 
think  of  his  universal  dominion  over  angels,  devils, 
men,  nature,  providence;  think  of  his  continued 
and  prevailing  intercession,  at  the  right  hand  of 
God ;  think  of  his  universal  invitations,  and  his 
absolute  promises ;  what  topics  these,  what  sources 
of  encouragement !  How  much  is  his  heart  fixed 
upon  the  salvation  of  sinners ;  this  was  the  joy 
that  was  set  before  him,  and  for  which  he  -endured 
the  cross,  despising  the  shame ;  this  is  the  travail 
of  his  soul,  and  by  which  its  ineflable  longings 
will  be  satisfied.  Your  salvation  is  his  business, 
and  the  accomplishment  of  which  will  be  his  re- 
ward. If  he  could  be  conceived  to  be  indifferent 
to  your  salvation,  will  he  be  indiflferent  to  his  own 
glory  %  Will  he  belie  his  own  name,  and  destroy 
his  own  work,  and  falsify  his  own  promises,  and 
throw  away  his  own  reward,  and  terminate  his 
own  renown  as  a  Saviour,  by  refusing  to  save  you7 
Is  it  probable  1  Is  it  possible  1  Even  unbelief  it- 
self must  say,  Na 

4.  Dwell  upon  the  infinite  and  all-sufficient  re- 
S0U2XCS  of  the  Iloly  Ghost. 


ENCOURAGEMENTS.  167 

This  Divine  Agent  is  as  omnipotent  to  sanctify 
as  the  power  of  God  was  in  the  beginning  to  create 
the  heavens  and  the  earth.  If  you  were  cast  upon 
your  own  resources,  you  might  well  exclaim, 
*'  Who  is  sufficient  for  these  things  ?"  and  aban- 
don the  hope  of  salvation  for  fixed  and  impervious 
despair.  But  the  economy  of  redemption  provides 
no  less  for  the  effectual  application  of  its  benefits 
by  the  work  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  than  it  does  for 
the  procurement  of  them  by  the  mediation  of 
Christ ;  and  the  claims  of  the  Godhead  were  not 
more  completely  foreseen  and  provided  for  by  the 
latter,  than  all  the  weaknesses,  and  wants,  and 
wickednesses  of  the  human  heart,  were  foreseen 
and  provided  for  also  by  the  former.  There  is  a 
glorious  completeness  in  the  scheme  of  redemption ; 
even  the  suspicious  eye  of  unbelief,  and  the  search- 
ing look  of  a  troubled  and  anxious  conscience,  can 
find  out  no  defect.  The  blindness  of  your  judg- 
ment ;  the  hardness  and  deceitfulness  of  your 
heart ;  the  perversity  of  your  will ;  the  deadness 
of  your  conscience ;  the  wildness  of  your  imagi- 
nation;  the  disorder  of  your  passions  ;  your  back- 
wardness to  good  ;  your  proneness  to  evil ;  your 
reluctance  to  determine  ;  your  irresoluteness  ;  your 
timidity  ;  your  fickleness  ;  all,  all  have  been  fore- 
seen and  provided  for  in  the  inexhaustible  riches 
of  grace  in  the  Blessed  Spirit  of  God.  On  those 
riches  you  are  encouraged  to  rely  and  to  draw, 
without  measure  and  without  end.    You  are  not 


168  ENCOURAGEMENTS. 

required  to  act,  to  speak,  to  will,  to  feel,  to  think, 
but  in  dependance  on  that  Divine  Agent.  You 
are  commanded  to  look  to  him  for  every  variety  of 
operation,  and  for  every  degree  of  influence,  and 
for  every  timely  putting  forth  of  his  power  and 
wisdom,  that  the  exigency  of  your  circumstances 
may  require.  Read,  especially  the  following  pas- 
sages of  scripture,  and  ask  if  there  be  not  encour- 
agement enough  here  1 — Luke  xi.  9 — 13.  Rom. 
viii.  10 — 16.  James  v.  5,  6.  Gal.  v,  22.  John 
xvi.  7—15.    2  Cor.  xii.  9,  10. 

5.  Dwell  upon  the  general  complexion  of  the 
word  of  God  as  so  largely  made  up  of  commands 
to  seek  salvation,  invitations  to  accept  of  it,  promi- 
ses to  ensure  it,  and  descriptions,  setting  forth  its 
blessings  in  their  vastness,  variety,  suitableness, 
and  certainty. 

If  the  whole  Bible  were  to  be  summed  up  in  one 
short,  comprehensive  sentence,  it  would  be  this, 
"  It  is  a  faithful  saying  and  worthy  of  all  ac- 
ceptation, THAT  Jesus  Christ   came   into   the 

WORLD     to    save    SINNERS,    EVEN    THE    CHIEF."      Or, 

reducing  it  still  more,  it  should  all  be  contained 
in  that  one  word,  of  immense,  infinite,  and  eternal 
import,  SALVATION.  Every  thing  in  the  Bible  tends 
to  this  as  its  centre :  here  all  the  lines  of  history 
and  prophecy  ;  the  old  testament  and  the  new ;  the 
law  and  gospel,  meet.  Salvation  glimmers  amidst 
the  clouds  and  shadows  of  the  Levitical  Economy, 
and  shines  forth  in  all  its  glory  from  the  facts  of 


ENCOURAGEMENTS.  169 

the  Christian  dispensation.  It  was  the  subject 
that  dropped  in  sweet  but  mystic  accents  from  the 
lips  of  mercy  on  the  despairing  minds  of  our  first 
parents ;  it  was  the  subject  wliich  came  in  the 
softer  tones  of  the  ceremonial  law,  when  the  thun- 
ders of  the  decalogue  had  ceased  to  terrify  the 
affrighted  Israelites  at  Sinai ;  it  was  the  subject  to 
which  the  prochet  struck  his  harp,  and  came  forth 
in  the  Psalms  of  David,  and  the  rapt  ecstacies  of 
Isaiah  ;  it  was  the  subject  which  angels  chose  as 
the  theme  of  their  song  on  the  night  of  the  nativi- 
ty ;  it  was  the  subject  which  evangelists  recorded 
in  their  histories,  and  apostles  described  in  their 
epistles  ;  and  which  even  the  awful  visions  of  the 
apocalypse  seemed  designed  to  magnify  and  illus- 
trate, by  representing  it  as  the  point  of  harmony 
between  heaven  and  earth,  and  the  link  that  con- 
nects the  events  of  time  with  the  glories  of  eter- 
nity. The  Bible,  then,  Enquirer,  presents  salvation 
to  your  attention,  and  employs  all  its  fulness  to 
attract,  all  its  authority  to  command,  all  its  gra- 
ciousness  to  invite  you  to  the  pursuit  of  this  vast 
possession — and  even  uses  its  threatenings  and  its 
thunders  for  the  merciful  purpose  of  driving  you 
for  refuge  to  the  hope  set  before  you  in  the  gospel. 
Is  not  this  encouragement  ? 

6.  The  unchangeableness  ofGocPs  nature  and 
covenant,  are  a  source  of  boundless  hope. 

He  has  invited,  he  has  commanded,  he  has  pro- 
mised ;  and  he  is  not  man  that  he  should  lie,  nor 
15 


I7D  ENCODRAGEMENTS. 

the  son  of  man  that  he  should  repent ;  but  he  is 
the  Father  of  lights,  with  whom  there  is  no  varia- 
bleness nor  shadow  of  a  change.  Immutable  in 
his  nature,  he  is  equally  so  in  his  purpose,  and  in 
his  promise.  Whom  he  loveth,  he  loveth  to  the 
end.  Could  you  examine  the  secret  lists  of  his 
friends,  you  would  find  neither  blots  nor  erasures 
there.  "  All  things  work  together  for  good  to 
them  that  love  God,  who  are  the  called  according 
to  his  purpose.  For  whom  he  did  foreknow  he 
also  did  predestinate  to  be  conformed  to  the  image 
of  his  Son.  Moreover  whom  Jie  did  predestinate, 
them  he  also  called ;  and  whom  he  called  thein 
he  also  justified ;  and  whom  he  justified  them  he 
also  glorified.  What  shall  we  then  say  to  these 
things  1  If  God  be  for  us  who  can  be  against  us. 
Who  shall  separate  us  from  the  love  of  Christ  ? 
Shall  tribulation,  or  distress,  or  persecution,  or 
famine,  or  nakedness,  or  peril,  or  sword  7  Nay,  in 
all  these  things  we  are  more  than  conquerors, 
through  him  that  loved  us.  For  I  am  persuaded 
that  neither  life  nor  death ;  nor  angels,  nor  prin- 
cipalities, nor  powers ;  nor  things  present,  nor 
things  to  come  ;  nor  height,  nor  depth,  nor  any 
other  creature,  shall  be  able  to  separate  us  from  the 
love  of  God  which  is  in  Christ  Jesus  our  Lord." — 
Romans  viii.  28 — 39.  Sublime  language  !  Tri- 
umphant boast !  Inspired  and  inspiring  exultation  ! 
Heaven  heard  it  and  approved  ;  hell  heard  it  and 
trembled  ;  and  let  saints  on  earth  hear  it  and  re- 


ENCOU     AQEMENTS  ITl 

joice.  Enquirer,  be  comforted,  where  a  good  work 
is  begun  in  the  heart,  it  shall  be  carried  on  until 
the  day  of  Jesus  Christ.  Phil.  i.  6.  The  Spirit 
that  builds  for  himself  a  temple  in  the  soul  of  man, 
will  not  leave  it  unfinished,  nor  suffer  it  to  sink  to 
ruins  after  he  has  finished  it.  Though  enemies 
without  may  oppose  and  ridicule ;  and  though 
enemies  within  may  stir  up  occasional  insurrection 
and  interruption,  the  work  shall  go  on  till  the  top 
stone  shall  be  brought  forth  amidst  the  shouts  of 
"  Grace,  Grace."  The  purpose  of  God  must  stand, 
in  spite  of  all  the  force  or  fraud,  the  power  and  ma- 
lice of  earth  and  hell  combined.  Is  not  this  en- 
couragement 1 

7.  Consider  the  sympathies  and  prayers  of  the 
Church. 

Discouraged  as  you  may  have  been  by  the  in- 
difference and  lukewarmness  of  some,  let  it  com- 
fort you  to  know,  that  all  are  not  thus.  There 
are  myriads  of  holy  ministers  of  Christ,  and  mil- 
lions of  pious  men  and  women,  from  age  to  age 
pouring  out  their  fervent  supplications  to  God,  for 
those  who  are  enquiring  the  way  to  Zion  with 
their  faces  thitherward.  Have  you  not  heard  your 
case  borne  with  tenderness,  and  minuteness,  and 
earnestness,  upon  the  hearts  of  your  friends  at  the 
meetings  of  social  prayer,  and  by  your  ministers 
when  leading  the  devotions  of  the  great  congre- 
gation ?  Have  you  not  thus  found  the  feelings  of 
the  assembly  poured  in   a  full  tide  of  sympathy 


172  ENCOURAGEMENTS. 

into  your  heart  ?  Yes,  and  not  only  do  the  "  Spirit 
and  the  Bride  say  come,"  in  this  public  manner; 
not  only  does  the  voice  of  united  prayer  commend 
you  to  God,  but  in  thousands  of  closets  of  praying 
men,  you  are  commended  to  God,  and  divine  grace 
is  implored  on  your  souls.  In  those  sad  and 
solemn  moments,  when  you  are  disheartened,  and 
ready  to  faint;  when  instead  of  prayer,  you  can 
send  forth  nothing  but  groanings  which  cannot  be 
uttered,  then  think  with  pleasure  and  with  hope, 
upon  the  many  intercessors  that  are  praying  for 
you,  and  "  thank  God  and  take  courage." 

8.  Take  encouragement  from  the  consideration 
of  the  ministry  of  angels — for  are  they  not  all 
ministering  spirits  unto  the  heirs  of  salvation  ? 
What  offices  they  perform  we  know  not,  perhaps 
because  it  is  not  safe  for  us  to  know ;  why  they 
are  employed  we  know  not ;  or  Avhat  is  the  extent 
of  our  obligation  we  know  not ;  but  the  bare  fact 
that  such  instruments  are  employed  about  you ; 
such  attendants  are  engaged  upon  your  interests; 
such  spectators  are  witnessing  you  ;  such  friends 
are  sympathising  with  you,  is  a  sweetly  pleasing 
and  encouraging  idea.  They  have  already  re 
joiced  over  your  conversion,  if  indeed  you  are  con- 
verted ;  and  have  had  you  consigned  to  their  care, 
to  minister  to  your  welfare.  You  may  be  despised 
by  men,  but  you  are  respected  by  angels  ;  you  may 
be  neglected  by  men,  but  you  are  attended  by  an- 
gels ;  you  may  be  dismissed  by  men,  but  you  are 


ENCOURAGEMENTS.  173 

associated  with  angels  ;  you  may  be  opposed  and 
persecuted  by  men,  but  angels  "  are  ministering 
spirits  sent  forth  to  minister  unto  your  salvation." 
Is  not  this  encouragement  ? 

9.  Consider  how  many  who  were  once  tried,  dis- 
heartened, weak  as  you  now  are,  have  been  carried 
in  safety  through  all  their  difficulties,  and  are  now 
before  the  throne  of  God  in  glory  everlasting. 

The  apostle  John  seems  to  have  set  all  the  doors 
of  the  heavenly  temple  ajar,  and  the  windows  a 
little  open,  that  the  sights  within  may  just  beam 
upon  our  eyes,  and  the  sounds  just  undulate  on 
our  ears.  "  After  this  I  beheld,  and  lo !  a  great 
multitude,  which  no  man  could  number,  of  all 
nations,  and  kindreds,  and  people,  and  tongues, 
stood  before  the  throne,  and  before  the  Lamb, 
clothed  with  white  robes,  and  palms  in  their  hands ; 
and  cried  with  a  loud  voice,  saying.  Salvation  to 
our  God  which  sitteth  upon  the  throne,  and  unto 
the  Lamb." — Rev.  vii.  9,  10.  And  who  are  they 
that  send  forth  such  strains  ?  They  that  "  went 
out  of  great  tribulation,  and  washed  their  robes 
and  made  them  white  and  clean  in  the  blood  of 
the  Lamb."  They  were  once  upon  earth ;  once 
men  of  like  passions  with  yourselves ;  once  be- 
ginning their  religious  course  as  you  now  are  ; 

"  Once  they  were  mourning  here  below, 

And  wet  their  couch  with  tears ; 
They  wrestled  hard,  as  we  do  now, 

With  sins,  and  doubts,  and  fears." 
15* 


174  ENCOURAGE  MKNTS. 

There  is  not  a  burden  that  oppresses  your  heart, 
but  what  oppressed  theirs ;  there  is  not  a  fear  that 
agitates  your  mind,  but  what  agitated  theirs  ;  there 
is  not  a  temptation  that  assaUs  you,  but  what  as- 
sailed them ;  there  is  not  an  obstacle  that  terrifies 
you,  but  what  terrified  them ;  they  were  once  as 
ignorant,  as  weak,  as  sinful,  as  timid,  as  discour- 
aged, as  you ;  there  is  not  a  sorrow,  a  perplexity, 
or  a  danger  with  which  you  are  painfully  familiar, 
but  they  passed  through  before  you.  But  there 
they  are  in  heaven,  more  than  conquerors  over  all 
these  things  through  Him  that  loved  them.  He 
that  saved  them  has  engaged  to  save  you  ;  nor  is 
his  ear  heavy,  or  his  arm  shortened.  "  Wherefore 
seeing  we  also  are  compassed  about  with  so  great 
a  cloud  of  witnesses,  let  us  lay  asile  every  weight 
and  the  sin  which  doth  so  easily  beset  us,  and  let 
us  run  with  patience  the  race  that  is  set  before  us, 
looking  unto  Jesus  the  author  and  finisher  of  our 
faith."— Heb.  xii.  1. 

10.  Let  the  magnitude  of  the  blessing  7jou  are 
seeking,  and  the  prospect  of  its  consummation  in 
eternal  glory,  encourage  you. 

You  are  seeking  salvation,  a  word  which  none 
but  the  mind  of  God  can  comprehend,  for  it  in- 
cludes, as  I  have  already  said,  what  is  infinite  and 
eternal.  It  will  bless  you  for  both  worlds,  this  and 
the  next.  In  the  present  life,  it  will  bestow  upon 
you  the  pardon  of  all  your  sins  ;  the  justification  of 
your  persons ;  the   renewal  and    sanctification  of 


ENCOURAGEMENTS.  175 

your  nature ;  adoption  into  the  family  of  God  ;  the 
spirit  of  adoption  ;  a  guardian  of  your  reputation ; 
a  protector  of  your  property  j  an  auxiliary  to  your 
health  ;  a  spring  of  comfort  in  the  dreariest  situa- 
tion ;  a  light  in  the  darkest  scene  of  distress ;  a 
companion  in  the  deepest  solitude ;  a  counsellor 
in  every  perplexity ;  a  help  in  weakness ;  a  check 
in  temptation ;  it  will  associate  you  with  the  re- 
deemed and  holy  people  of  God  ;  conduct  you  in 
honour  through  the  changing  scenes  of  life  j  attend 
you  to  the  verge  of  eternity ;  soften  your  dying 
pillow ;  assuage  the  agony  of  separation ;  and 
cheer  you  araidbt  the  agonies  of  death,  Avith  the 
hopes  of  immortality.  And  all  this  is  but  the  pre- 
lude, the  earnest,  and  the  foretaste  of  what  awaits 
you  beyond  the  grave.  What  that  is,  should  be 
told  only  in  the  words  of  the  Spirit  of  God ;  for, 
"  eye  hath  not  seen,  nor  has  ear  heard,  nor  has  it 
ever  entered  into  the  heart  of  man  to  conceive,  the 
things  which  God  hath  prepared  for  them  that  love 
him."  "  Father,"  said  our  Lord,  "  I  will  that 
they  whom  thou  hast  given  me,  be  with  me  where 
I  am,  that  they  may  behold  my  glory."  "  So  shall 
we  be  ever  with  the  Lord."  "  He  that  believeth 
on  the  Son  hath  everlasting  life."  "  To  them 
who  by  patient  continuance  in  well  doing,  seek 
for  glory,  honour,  immortality,  and  eternal  life." 
"  Our  light  affliction  which  is  but  for  a  moment, 
worketh  for  us  a  far  more  exceeding  and  eteriial 
iveight  of  glory  ;  for  the  things  which  are  not  seen 


176  ENCOUHAQEMENTS. 

are  cteroal."  "  Who  balh  begotten  us  to  an  in- 
heritance incorruptible,  undeSIed,  and  that  fadeth 
not  away,  reserved  in  heaven  for  you,  who  are 
kept  by  the  power  of  God  through  faith  unto  sal- 
vation, ready  to  be  revealed  in  the  last  time."  "  It 
doth  not  yet  appear  what  we  shall  be,  but  we 
know  that  when  he  shall  appear,  we  shall  be  like 
him,  for  we  shall  see  him  as  he  is."  "  After  this, 
I  beheld,  and  lo,  a  great  multitude  which  no  man 
could  number,  of  all  nations,  and  kindreds,  and 
people,  and  tongues,  stood  before  the  throne,  and 
before  the  Lamb,  clothed  with  white  robes,  and 
palms  in  their  hands,  and  cried  with  a  loud  voice, 
saying.  Salvation  to  our  God,  which  sitteth  upon 
the  throne,  and  unto  the  Lamb.  Therefore  are 
they  before  the  throne  of  God,  and  serve  him  day 
and  night  in  his  temple  ;  and  he  that  sitteth  on  the 
throne,  shall  dwell  among  them.  They  shall  hun- 
ger no  more,  neither  thirst  any  more ;  neither  shall 
the  sun  light  on  them,  nor  any  heat.  For  the 
Lamb  that  is  in  the  midst  of  the  throne  shall  feed 
them,  and  shall  lead  them  to  living  fountains  of 
waters ;  and  God  shall  wipe  away  all  tears  from 
their  eyes." 

Anxious  Enquirer  after  salvation,  take  courage, 
look  upward  to  heaven,  and  onward  to  eternal 
glory — and  see  what  thou  art  seeking,  and  what 
thou  art  encouraged  to  expect. 


'^ 


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